Into the Light
by WhyIsGamora
Summary: "When Adelaide Rivers woke up at the Stark Tower, she had no idea how she got there or why her head felt like it was being repeatedly hit with a hammer." Following through all the loops and twists of this new life, will Adelaide find her answers? And more importantly, will she be able to handle them? A Peter Parker x OC, but a lot of the other Avengers will come into play.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Adelaide is my new obsession and this story kind of just popped into my head out of nowhere. This is a Peter Parker x OC fanfic, but it's a little more than that because Adelaide will have a relationship with other Avengers too. Anyways, so Peter will appear around chapter 7, 8, or 9. Not sure yet because I don't plan, I just write as it comes to me. Which is also why I still need to plan how Peter's timeline coincides with Adelaide's.**

 **The story is set well after Iron Man 3 and about a little less than a year before Age of Ultron. My goal is to continue the story into Infinity War and Avengers 4, but the MCU timeline is a mess so we'll have to see how I work around that. For certain, the story will go Infinity War and Avengers 4. Just FYI, since it's been a while since Infinity War came out, there might be some spoilers in the A/N, but I'll try to warn you before they come.**

 **I will say that this first chapter is kind of like the 'pilot' and shorter than usual, but hopefully the rest will be a bit longer. I'll try to update regularly since it's summer vacation right now, but no promises.**

 **Also, this story has a trailer and it would be amazing if you checked it out because I worked super hard on it and I personally think it's very fitting. Here's the link, tell me how it is!**

 **watch?v=OapBMts_H6U**

 **I won't drag this out any longer, so here it is!**

* * *

 _"…I've always wanted a_

 _strange teenager to show_

 _up at my doorstep,_

 _half dead."_

* * *

When Adelaide Rivers woke up in the Stark Tower, she had no idea how she got there or why her head felt as if it was being repeatedly hit with a hammer. No, she didn't know why Tony Stark's head of security, Happy Hogan, was pacing in front of her, talking on the phone in a hushed manner. No, she didn't have any recollection of anything before she opened her eyes. No, she couldn't figure out why Happy looked so worried when she began to stand up. And no, she didn't know why she felt so dizzy. There was a loud ringing in her ears that she couldn't shake off and it seemed to block all other sounds. Her vision was blurry, yet she couldn't clear it up no matter how many times she blinked or shook her head.

At first, it was quiet. Then it got louder and louder until, all at once, her vision and hearing cleared immediately. She could then clearly see Happy forcing her to sit down as her dizziness began to fade away and the room turned right side up.

"Hey, hey, kid you alright?" She rubbed her forehead, begging it to stop pounding. It seemed to be screaming at her.

"I – what? Where am I?" she asked, dazed. Happy paused for a heartbeat, contemplating.

"The Stark Tower," he answered. She looked at him in dismay.

"What?"

"Look, kid. I don't know you, you don't know me, okay? So let's start with me. I'm Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's head of security." Adelaide could do nothing more than blink at him, causing him to release a heavy sigh.

"…And this would be the part where you tell me who you are," he said slowly. She blinked once again.

"I –" Suddenly, the ringing in her ears hit her again. She pressed her hands against her ears, trying to get it to stop, when the dizziness started once again. Adelaide felt her stomach tying itself into a tight knot and suddenly, her vision went dark.

* * *

When Adelaide woke up again, it was a similar situation, but an entirely different room. This time, Tony Stark himself was in the room, yet he failed to look even slightly stressed or worried that there was an unknown teenager sleeping on his couch. The ringing in Adelaide's ears had ceased, yet her head was pounding faster than her heart. She felt the dizziness once again as she began to stand up. Tony turned around, noticing.

"Hey kid, you alright? I'm Tony, by the way," he said, extending his hand out for a formal handshake. The girl looked at him like that was obvious. He retracted his hand, clearing his throat. "Right. You probably already knew that."

He turned around and began walking back to his desk.

"So what brings you here?" he asked, glancing back, "Other than a very tired Happy Hogan." Adelaide looked around the room, trying to get familiar with her surroundings. She was in a basement of some sorts. She noticed the display of the Iron Man suits along the wall and the huge workspace in the middle of the room. Tony was still talking, she realized.

"…I've always wanted a strange teenager to show up at my doorstep, half dead. I – what's your name again, kid?"

"Adelaide," she answered, feeling a little fazed.

"Uh, yeah, no. Too long. Can I call you Adie? I'm gonna call you Adie. So, Adie, how do you like your juice?" he asked, walking away, "Orange? Apple? Orange and apple? Iced? Iced with orange and..." His voice faded away as he went into another room. All those questions made her head ache even more. Her gaze fell on the desk Tony was working on and she walked to it. There was an arm from the famous Iron Man suit. It was open, revealing the mess of tangled wires and complex parts inside. Her eyes wandered over to a picture frame of a ginger-haired woman in the middle of a laugh with her eyes crinkled at the corners; she seemed as if she'd never hurt a fly. Adelaide recognized her from the news as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's girlfriend and CEO of Stark Industries.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Adelaide swung around and twisted his arm behind his back, making him cry out in pain before she realized it was Tony.

"It's just me," he said, his voice strained. She dropped his arm, embarrassed. Where had she learned that?

Tony turned around, stretching his arm in pain.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, surprised that a fragile teenager like her could take him so easily.

"Self-defense," she answered with a subtle underlying tone of humor.

"Right," he said sarcastically, rolling his shoulder, "Anyway, I was out of juice so I got you a Coke." He picked the can up from the desk and handed it to her.

Adelaide took it and carefully brought it up to her lips which, she realized, were dry and bleeding. They stung as the cool liquid touched them, yet she was grateful to have something in her stomach. The girl couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. Tony watched her as the teenager seemingly swallowed the whole can in seconds.

"Do you –" he glanced back into the kitchen, "– Do you want something to eat?"

She glanced into the kitchen behind Tony.

"No," she said, but then her stomach growled and Tony gave her an incredulous look, leading her into the kitchen.

"Pizza sound good?" he asked. She nodded. He heated it up and tossed her another Coke which she caught with ease, without looking up, too meddled in her thoughts. This seemed unsettling to Tony. He wondered if the girl was a shapeshifter who was actually a combat-trained criminal instead of the tiny teenager who sat before him. Tony convinced himself that she had just caught him off guard, that's all. He could've taken her if he wanted to. He was Tony Stark. He had defeated many villains and this was just a teenager.

The billionaire put the pizza in front of Adelaide, but snatched it away before she could grab it.

"Yeah, yeah, call me mean, but I'll only give you this if you talk. Deal?" he said. Adelaide tried to consider it, but her stomach growled once again.

"Fine," she mumbled. He carefully slid the plate back to her and she began gobbling it down in seconds.

"вкусно," Adelaide mumbled. The word had just slipped out of her mouth. Tony heard it, even though she had mumbled it with her mouth full. He pulled a chair and sat down in front of her.

"I heard that. That sounded like Russian. Was that Russian? What did you say? Do you speak Russian? Adie, do you speak Russian?" He threw the questions at her so quickly, her head began aching again, a dull throbbing that seemed impossible to ignore. Yet, Adelaide had the same questions as Tony. How did she know Russian?

"I-I don't know," she answered, "I think?"

"Alright kid, now I know my Russian's a little rusty so just stick with English for now, okay? So tell me your name," the billionaire asked, "Your whole name."

"Adelaide Maxwell Rivers," she answered, the name just rolling off her tongue.

"Too many syllables. I'm still calling you Adie," he said and waved the topic away. Adelaide tried not to roll her eyes. "Next question. Where're you from?"

She hesitated. The truth was, she had no idea. She had no memory of anything before she had opened her eyes. Yet, for some reason, something in the back of her mind told her she was supposed to be here. Adelaide felt as if she was in the right place.

"I don't know," she said, "I can't remember."

Tony eyed the teenager carefully.

"So you're telling me, that you passed all the security on your way into the Tower, woke up at the Tower, and have no idea how you got here?" he asked. "And I thought I was having trouble remembering where I put my keys," he mumbled to himself.

"I don't remember anything before that, either," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I got that," he said, looking deep in thought. He looked up. "Tell me something else. Anything that pops into mind."

"I'm 13," Adelaide said. Tony was reminded of how she had his arm twisted behind his back before he even had the chance to react. He made a mental note to program JARVIS for combat lessons.

"I can speak English, Russian…German, and Ukrainian. Oh, and Spanish. But only a little."

"Yeah, not important," he said, "Who're your parents?"

"I…" Adelaide didn't know. The teenager had no idea who her parents were. She didn't even know what they looked like, let alone their names. She had no image of them in her mind.

"Let me guess," the billionaire said, "you don't know. That's starting to become more and more annoying, you know that?"

He was right, Adelaide thought. Her lack of memory was bothering her. Why didn't she know? What had happened before she opened her eyes? Where would she find the answers? But the real question was, would she be able to handle them?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I know I said Adelaide is 14, but, like I said, I still need to see how her timeline coincides with Peter's so don't be surprised if she's 13 in the next chapter lol. I don't plan this stuff until last minute. Also, I know that Pepper and Tony are supposed to be like 'taking a break' or something, but for the sake of this story, they're not and they're going to be together even during Age of Ultron and Civil War.**

 **This chapter wasn't supposed to be so important to the story, but I ended up making it the basis for like the next 5 chapters. Oops. I'll just say that this chapter was an ABSOLUTE PAIN to write. Mainly because I didn't plan and then ended up publishing the first chapter without realizing what a mess it was. So I had to rewrite this whole chapter again. And I still haven't fixed everything. I honestly thought that since it's summer, I'd have more time, but 24 hours is just not enough time to cover all my mistakes.**

 **Anyway, in this chapter, we get to see Pepper meet Adie which is something I have been looking forward to ever since the idea first popped into my head. Adie's relationship with Tony and Pepper is my favorite because they end up becoming like her parents and we all know that Tony is still a child so now Pepper has two teenagers to look after lol.**

 **So this chapter is a tad bit longer than the last one, but just wait till chapter 3...;)**

 **Just a warning, I don't speak Russian. I've heard Google Translate isn't that good, so sorry if some of it's not accurate lol.**

* * *

 _"Abracadabra."_

* * *

Adelaide was in a guest room, trying to find out more about what had happened before she opened her eyes. She was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, raking her brain for any sort of memory, but there was absolutely _nothing_. Adelaide didn't have a single memory of her 13 years of life before she opened her eyes today. How was that possible?

She stood up, the dull ache in her head returning, and walked into the bathroom. Somehow, everything in Tony Stark's penthouse managed to look so expensive, she couldn't even imagine the zeros that trailed after the number. The bathroom was fully equipped with everything anyone could ask for, yet all Adelaide wanted was cold water. She turned on the sink, changing the water to the coldest temperature possible and splashed a handful of it onto her face.

"Think," she mumbled to herself.

 _Use your measly brain and think. What had happened?_

 _Think._

 _Splash!_

 _What had happened?_

 _Splash!_

 _Come on, Adelaide._

 _Splash!_

 _Think!_

 _Splash!_

 _THINK!_

The teenager looked into the mirror at her own reflection. Her face stung from the ice-cold water. It had turned red – from anger or the water, she did not know. Her electric blue eyes seemed to shine brighter than the overhead lights. Adelaide thought she must be imagining things, but her blue eyes almost seemed to be glowing. She stared into them, until suddenly, her head exploded with pain and she fell to the ground, screaming in agony. She opened her eyes carefully, uncurling from the fetus position she had fell into. There was a ringing in her ears, but it was bearable. Adelaide scrambled up, realizing she wasn't in Tony's guest bathroom anymore.

She was in a car, sitting in the backseat. There was a little girl sitting next to her, happily playing with her doll and humming to herself. The girl looked average with her brown hair, except her big blue eyes were abnormally bright. Adelaide studied her carefully. She had seen those eyes somewhere before…

The girl didn't seem to notice her and continued to play with her teddy bear. Adelaide grew confused. Wasn't she just playing with a doll two seconds ago? Her mind was just messing with her, Adelaide told herself. She looked past the girl and out the window, trying to figure out where they were. It was clearly very late in the night and the car was driving over a broken road, running through some unrecognizable woods. There were no signs or lampposts. Just the dark and scary woods.

The ringing in her ears faded away and she could hear two voices conversing in the front seats of the car.

"I'm worried, Henry," the woman said, "She's still a little girl." The woman looked like the older version of the girl sitting next to her. They shared the same chocolate hair and electric blue eyes. Adelaide assumed the woman must be the girl's mother.

"I am too, Ava," the man said, his eyes still on the road, "but we've done the best we could. She's safe." Ava didn't look assured.

"This – all of this – it's unfair to her. She's just a child!" Henry reached over and grabbed his wife's hand. He glanced at her for a second, but his eyes were still fixed on the road. Ava stubbornly looked out the window, a deep frown on her face. The woman looked tired and her eyes were filled with guilt and regret.

"Ava, listen to me. Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world. No one will be able to touch her," Henry said. Ava softened, looking down at her hand holding her husband's.

"Not even him?" she whispered.

"Not even him," Henry said firmly. The man's eyes glazed over with determination. No one was going to touch his daughter as long as he was alive. Ava looked out the window again, her gaze beyond the dark trees.

"I hope you're right," she whispered. He squeezed her hand.

"Just watch, Ava. Our daughter will avenge us," he said, looking at his wife, "I promise."

His attention wasn't on the road now, he was watching his wife's beautiful blue eyes that made him fall in love with her many years ago. Those bright eyes were what got him through the dark days of their life. They both shared a sad smile that seemed to hide a thousand stories.

Adelaide looked at the little girl sitting next to her again. She was holding a small, green dinosaur now, humming a familiar song. Their daughter was oblivious to the conversation her parents were having, happily playing with her…doll. Wasn't it just a dinosaur?

Adelaide looked ahead again, silently watching the road. She felt a strange sort of comfort sitting in the car, like her heart was finally content. She was in the right place.

Then, in the distance, Adelaide could see a pair of headlights coming towards them. That car was driving on the wrong side of the road, she realized. It was coming right at them at it wasn't slowing down. Adelaide looked beside her. The little girl was still playing just as happily. Henry was saying something to Ava, his eyes not watching the road. Adelaide felt the air leaving her lungs. She struggled to find the right words to say.

"Watch out!" she screamed, but no one heard a word. The car was dangerously fast and dangerously close. She closed her eyes. She couldn't breathe.

Ava screamed, "HENRY!"

Henry's eyes grew wide and he spun the steering to the right, but it was too late. The car crashed into theirs and Adelaide instinctively embraced the little girl, but her hands went right through. Both cars skid off the road, theirs hitting a tree. Adelaide sat up, looking around at the damage. The little girl was barely conscious, like her parents. She seemed confused as to what was happening.

"Momma…" she whispered painfully. There was a trail of blood running down from a wide gash on her arm. Adelaide had to do something. But what?

"Adie!" someone yelled, but Adelaide barely heard the voice. She was panicking.

Outside, a black car appeared next to theirs. Adelaide watched through the shattered window as the driver got out and opened the back door. Another man stepped out, in the middle of reloading his gun. His dark eyes locked onto their car, narrowing as his thin lips curved into a smile. Adelaide watched him in terror. She was shaking in fear. Somehow unaffected by the disturbing sight of the accident, he gracefully walked over to whatever was left of their car, casually bending over to see the couple.

"Adie!" someone yelled again.

Upon seeing him, Henry's eyes narrowed. Even with the blood on his face, Adelaide could see the hatred embed into his expression. On the other hand, Ava was trying to keep her fear and pain from showing. The woman kept subtly glancing into the backseat, at her daughter. The man seemed to notice this.

"Adelaide!"

A terrifying smile appeared onto his face. The smile not wavering, he aimed his gun at Henry's head. Adelaide gasped, reaching out before she realized.

There was nothing she could do.

She screamed.

The ringing in her ears returned and then, all at once, everything went black. Adelaide felt herself falling. She opened her eyes, gasping for air. She scrambled up, pushing herself away before she realized it was only Tony.

"Hey, hey, it's just me," he said softly. Adelaide was struggling to breathe, sweat rolling down her forehead. Her hair was sticking to her neck and she was completely drenched in sweat. The teenager was shaking from fear.

"I heard you scream and then I found you like this. Are you okay?" he asked.

Adelaide looked into his brown eyes, breathless. Her throat felt raw as she said these next words.

"I know who my parents are."

* * *

Tony had forced Adelaide to take a cold shower to clean the sweat and then get some rest. He had given her some of Pepper's clothes which loosely fit, considering Pepper was much taller than her. Even then, Adelaide was grateful to change into a sweater and sweats. Although the shower cleaned the sweat, it did nothing to her memories.

 _Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world._

Adelaide sat down at the foot of her bed, staring at the long scar on her arm. The memory was still so vivid. She looked at her shaky hands, clenching and then unclenching them. There was nothing special about her, not as far as she knew. Other than her massive migraine, she felt painfully normal. Then why did her parents believe she would become the most powerful person in the world? Adelaide looked into the mirror. Her blue eyes had turned dim, unlike before and they looked exceedingly dull. Her wet, brown hair certainly added to the 'dull' effect, making her seem absolutely normal. How was she supposed to be the most powerful person in the world?

 _Our daughter will avenge us._

Adelaide felt as if she was missing a big piece of a puzzle. What couldn't she remember? What was her life like before she had opened her eyes? Why were her parents killed? What had they done? If she was the most powerful person in the world, then why couldn't she have stopped the accident? The frustration maddened her.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Adelaide said quietly. Tony walked with Pepper trailing behind him.

"See, I told you she's real," Tony started, "And she hasn't ran away yet. Which means I'm a good babysitter." Pepper rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her smile.

"Fine, I believe you. Now go," she said, lightly pushing him out. She closed the door behind him. Pepper carefully sat down on the floor, next to the teenager.

"Adelaide, right?" Pepper asked softly. Adelaide nodded.

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Adelaide answered. Pepper looked at the girl's reflection in the mirror.

"How are you really feeling?" she asked. Adelaide sighed.

"Like I was hit by a train," she said, making Pepper smile. "Thanks for the clothes," she added after a second, "I'll give them back before I leave."

"What do you mean leave?" Pepper said, "You are in no condition to leave. Especially not now, when you can't remember anything. You're staying with us until we can find your parents –"

"My parents are dead." Pepper looked at her in dismay.

"What?"

Adelaide closed her eyes, thinking of those last moments in the car. She couldn't feel any remorse because she didn't even remember what they were like. The memory of the accident was all she remembered of them.

"Is this from the memory earlier? Tony told me about it," Pepper said after Adelaide didn't say anything. The girl nodded.

"I am so sorry Adelaide," Pepper said quietly. Adelaide shook her head.

"I don't remember them. I only know their names. Henry and Ava," she said. Adelaide was caught by surprise when Pepper hugged her. After a moment, Adelaide hugged her back awkwardly, a strange feeling settling into her chest. Was it comfort? It felt kind of…nice.

"We'll fix this," Pepper said, pulling away, "I promise. And until then, you're staying here."

Adelaide didn't really want to stay. She wanted to go out there and find some answers, but she knew her best bet was to stay here and let Tony and Pepper help her find those answers. And, the teenager had nowhere else to go. She knew no one else besides these two. She would find her answers faster if she let them help. Maybe she would even be able to find the man who killed her parents.

"Thank you," she said. Pepper smiled and stood up, patting her shoulder.

"I'll go tell Tony. We can decide what do next tomorrow. It's getting late and you need some rest," Pepper said, "Let me know if you need anything, I'll be back before you go to sleep." Adelaide nodded. With that, Pepper left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Adelaide stared at the door for a second before looking away.

 _Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world._

That sentence. That damned sentence. It had been running around in her mind for hours, yet she couldn't figure it out. Were her parents royals and now she was supposed to take the throne? Is that the kind of power they meant? No, Adelaide thought, they can't be royals.

Maybe her parents believed she had some kind of powers. Like Thor or the Hulk. Magic, perhaps? Maybe she was a witch, like that one from _Harry Potter_. Adelaide looked around the room, trying to find something to experiment on. Her eyes landed on the hairbrush sitting on the dresser, in front of the mirror.

 _Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world._

She closed her eyes and focused her energy on moving the hairbrush with only her mind. She stretched her left hand out, trying to direct the energy towards it. She moved her hand around, but nothing happened. The hairbrush stayed in the same place.

"Abracadabra," she whispered, feeling kind of stupid. Again, the hairbrush didn't move. Of course it didn't move. What was she expecting? Sparkles and light coming out from her hand? This is pointless, Adelaide told herself, you're not powerful, you're average. This was stupid. She felt stupid. She didn't have any magical powers. If anything, her little experiment had made her even more angry at herself.

Adelaide groaned and stood up to grab the hairbrush herself for her tangled hair. She hadn't bothered to brush it after her shower, not really in the mood to do a hairstyle after she watched her parents die. Adelaide sat down in front of the mirror, rhythmically brushing her hair. She watched the brush smooth out her hair, straightening it. It was almost hypnotic.

 _Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world._

She focused watching the hairbrush to avoid thinking about the sentence. It would just mess with her mind again.

 _Our daughter will avenge us._

The hairbrush, she told herself. Just watch the hairbrush. Don't think about anything else.

 _I promise._

Adelaide realized she was gritting her teeth, trying to stop thinking about the memory. Angrily, she threw the brush to the floor. She couldn't take it anymore. The voices in her head were relentlessly saying the same thing over and over again. She was going to lose her mind thinking about what they meant. Adelaide had to figure out what her father meant. She needed to know her power. The girl looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was colored with anger and set with determination.

 _Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world._

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Adelaide picked up the hairbrush off the floor and tried to control her anger for the moment.

"Come in." Pepper walked in, a kind smile on her face.

"Hey, I just wanted to check in to see if you need anything before you go to bed." Adelaide forced a smile.

"No, I'm good," she answered.

"Okay," Pepper said, "Well, goodnight, then."

"Goodnight." As much as she appreciated Pepper checking in on her, Adelaide wanted this conversation to be over as quickly as possible. Pepper began to close the door, then stopped halfway, opening it again.

"Oh, and Adelaide?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah?"

"Please try not to worry too much. We're going to figure this out, just give it some time, okay?" Adelaide bit her lip. Little did she know, Adelaide did not want to give it any time. She wanted her answers right now and she was going to get them right now. But Adelaide nodded, for her sake and Pepper's.

Pepper smiled gently. "Goodnight, Adelaide."

As soon as the door, was shut, Adelaide began planning how she was going to get her answers. Then, moments later, the perfect plan struck her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3, the longest chapter yet. This chapter was really fun to write, especially towards the end ;)**

 **I know that Adelaide might seem a little...irrational in this chapter, but I couldn't think of another way for her to discover her powers and I tried to build the climax the best I could. In this chapter, we get to see Tony go from teenager to Irondad for a second, but not too long lol. Pepper becomes more of a parental figure for Adie. We also get to see a new character that doesn't seem very important now, but I'm planning on making him contribute a lot to the climax of this story which is wayyyyy down the road. I'm thinking we'll see him every now and then, but that's if I don't forget about him lol. Now that I think about it, we actually see two new characters. One them is kind of like the underdog and the other is like the big boss.**

 **So tonight I'm going to see Spider-Man: Homecoming outside, on a lawn and I AM SO EXCITED! We're gonna have a picnic and stuff and I'm seriously going to scream every time Tom Holland comes on screen. The whole town is going to think I've lost it.**

 **I'm going to try and keep up this pattern where I post a chapter every other day, but after my last fiasco with the messy plot, I've been too busy trying to fix the other chapters and haven't finished a new one. I probably won't write one tonight because of the movie, but I've got another messy chapter written and I just need to edit that one. I'm almost done though, I promise. And to make up for the messy work, this chapter is extra long!**

 **Also, thank you so much to _lizlil, NotCurrent, Lilithnocte, AnimeGamerGirl23, KnightLawn, theonethatgotaway,_ and _FanGirlForever19_ for following, favoriting, or leaving a review! It seriously means so much to me that you like this story! Thank you guys :)**

* * *

 _"G-G-Ghost!"_

* * *

Maybe using adrenaline to create a plan wasn't the brightest idea, Adelaide thought as she stood on a diving board, looking down at the pool that seemed miles away. Her plan had seemed simple: test if she had any of the mainstream powers such as super strength, superspeed, flying, etc. But jumping off an extremely high diving board wasn't the best idea. In the midst of this, Adelaide had learned that she was afraid of heights. What's the use of a flying superpower if she didn't like heights?

 _How is the ability to fly going to make me the most powerful person in the world?_

She looked down at the pool again. The teenager had trespassed to get here. Sure, it was a public pool, but it was past midnight and she had climbed over a fence to get inside. She wasn't going to turn away now. Adelaide took a deep breath; here goes nothing, she thought and jumped off. As she was falling, she concentrated on trying to make herself fly. She tried making her body feel weightless, but when Adelaide hit the water, she realized that flying wasn't her power. She couldn't tell if she was more relieved or disappointed. Relieved, Adelaide thought as she pulled herself out of the pool, she was relieved. She didn't want to fly.

Adelaide went back into the building, trying to find a towel. Down the corridor, all the doors were locked, except the last one. It was a locker room and luckily, someone had left a towel hanging outside. As she dried herself with the towel, Adelaide decided to leave quickly before anyone saw her. The teenager wasn't in the mood to get in trouble. She finished, hanging the towel back up and left the room, and quietly shutting the door behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Adelaide turned around. It was a security guard running towards her with a flashlight. Shit, she thought, she needed to get out of here. She frantically looked around for an exit, but she was at the end of the hall and there were no doors, just a set of stairs.

"Stop right there or I'm calling the police!" Left with no choice, she ran up the stairs. The layout of the second floor was far more confusing than the first one. There were so many corners and rooms. Adelaide just ran, hoping to find her way out. She could hear the guard catching up.

"Hey! Get back here!"

Adelaide felt as if she was running in circles. She couldn't even find the stairs she had climbed to get here.

"Stop right now! I'm calling the police!"

Adelaide turned another corner, feeling hopeful. It was a small, dark hall with only one door and it was slightly ajar. She ran inside, locking the door behind her even though she knew the guard probably had to keys to open it. The room was dark, but Adelaide could see that it was some kind of storage room. There was a small window that allowed some of the city lights to spill through. She hid behind a tall stack of large cardboard boxes in corner, holding her breath and listened carefully. The guard's footsteps grew louder and louder until he stopped in front of the door, shaking the door knob.

"What?" he asked, a slight Hispanic accent slipping through, "Do you take me for an idiot? I know you're in there, and I have the keys to open this door." Adelaide heard a certain jingle as he pulled out his keys. "Kids these days. They just grow stupider," he mumbled to himself as he unlocked the door. She heard a sharp _click!_ and then he swung the door open.

"Now are you going to come out, or do I have to look for you?" He sighed when Adelaide didn't come out. He mumbled something about not getting paid enough. Adelaide watched him through a small crack between the stack of boxes.

"You know," he said, shining his flashlight behind a shelf, "you kids are really predictable these days." He checked behind a cabinet. "You never really surprise me. Do you know why?"

The guard looked inside some boxes, coming loser to where she was hiding. Adelaide took a step back, holding her breath. Her heart was about to beat itself right out of her chest and her stomach was tying itself into a knot. On accident, Adelaide knocked down a box, making the guard laugh. She looked around for a place to run, but she had trapped herself into a corner.

 _Shit._

"Because you always reveal yourself," he said, knocking down the boxes in front of her. He shined the flashlight right at her eyes, and she instinctively covered her face, crouching into the corner. She waited for the next insult or for him to grab her arm, but nothing happened. Adelaide opened her eyes carefully. The guard was waving the flashlight around, looking right over her. The teenager studied the guard curiously.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," he said, turning around. Adelaide sat there, confused.

 _What just happened?_

She peered through the space between the boxes as the guard continued to search the room for her. He looked behind more shelves and boxes, getting restless. Adelaide grew more confused. She looked down, at herself.

Then, a lot of things happened at once. She realized she couldn't see her body – it just wasn't _there_. She screamed, knocking over more boxes and making the guard look in her direction. When he didn't see anything, he took several steps back, scared out of his mind.

"G-G-Ghost!" he yelled and ran out of the room. Adelaide struggled to breathe, feeling more scared than the guard. She closed her eyes, willing for this nightmare to go away. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gathered the courage to look down. Suddenly, she could see her body again. It was there. All of it. She pinched her arm to make sure that it was real.

"Ouch!" she whispered into the dark. The air returned to her lungs. Her body was back, and it was real. She leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths. What in the world was that? She couldn't see her body, but she still _felt_ it. How was that even possible? The teenager closed her eyes, pulling her knees up to her chest. What was happening to her? In her plan to find answers, Adelaide had found more questions.

 _Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world._

And in that moment, realization dawned her. For the first time since she had the memory, the sentence suddenly made sense. It made sense why the guard couldn't see her or why even she couldn't see herself.

Her power was invisibility.

* * *

Knowing the guard wouldn't be back for a while, Adelaide decided to stay in the storage room for a little longer and test out her powers. She sat on a dusty chair next to the window and used an old mirror she had found in a pile of rubbish. It was cracked and stained, but it would have to do. The teenager closed her eyes, focusing on making herself invisible again. Adelaide imagined the light from the window bending and curving around her to make her invisible. She felt her whole body buzzing with energy and excitement when she opened her eyes to the reflection of an empty chair in the mirror. She got so excited, she almost fell out of her chair. When she made herself reappear again, she noticed her blue eyes were brighter than usual. They almost seemed to be glowing like they had in the bathroom earlier when she had that memory.

Then, Adelaide got an idea. She concentrated on a stack of binders on the floor next to the mirror, stretching out her hand. She could feel tips of her fingers tingling slightly as she manipulated the light around her again. Right before her eyes, the stack of binders seemingly turned into a stack of pillows. In her excitement, she lost focus and the pillows turned back into binders. Adelaide sat back into her chair, beaming.

Her powers went farther than just invisibility, she realized – she could manipulate light to make people see, or not see, whatever she wanted. That explained why her memory felt so vivid. Without realizing it, she had bent the light around herself to make the illusion that she was reliving that memory again.

Hours passed. Adelaide had been so invested in discovering the limits of her power, she hadn't realized that it was already 2 in morning. Her eyes began dropping and she became more tired as she continued to use her powers. The teenager decided that it was time to go back to the Tower. She would continue this tomorrow.

As she stood up, her hair flaming red hair turned back to its original dark brown color. Despite how tired she felt, Adelaide decided it would be best if she turned herself invisible until she left the building. She left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. The teenager walked through the halls without worrying about being seen. Not having to worry about being chased by a guard this time, Adelaide found the exit easily.

As she climbed over the fence, she felt someone watching her. She whipped her head back, scanning the pool area, but there was no one. Adelaide reminded herself that she was invisible. No one could see her. Even then, she convinced herself it was probably just the guard from earlier. The teenager turned around and jumped down from the fence. Adelaide thought she heard footsteps, but it was still silent and there was still no one. She decided to get back to the Tower quickly. It was getting late and it was getting harder to keep herself invisible.

* * *

The man watched the fence shake as the girl jumped it, a sly grin on his face. She might be invisible, but he'd been watching her for years. He'd know her anywhere. He turned around, adjusting his eye patch and pulling out his phone. He dialed the number with one hand, twisting the gun casually in the other.

 _"_ _Tell me you have good news, Graves."_ The man chuckled.

"Good news? I have great news. The girl's doing exactly what we planned. She just found her powers."

 _"_ _Is she remembering anything?"_

"Nothing. You wiped her clean, Lukov."

 _"_ _хорошо. Let's hope she stays that way."_

"By the looks of it, she's going to stay this way for a while."

 _"_ _Keep me updated. If anything goes even slightly wrong –"_

"I know, I know. My head, your bullet. I've got this under control, Lukov. You just start planning our celebration party."

 _"_ _I will plan that when we're victorious. Keep your good eye on her."_ Lukov ended the call. As Graves put his phone back into his pocket, he heard some footsteps coming from around the corner. In half a second, he had his finger hooked around the trigger, ready to pull without hesitation. Shoot first, think later was his mantra. He had killed so many men, it was like a game now. A sort of entertainment.

Then, a man turned the corner, oblivious he was living the last moments of his life. Graves recognized him as the guard who was chasing the girl earlier. This should be fun, he thought. The guard's eyes grew wide when he saw the gun that was aimed at his forehead. He put his hands up, taking a step back. Graves curled his lip deviously.

"Any last words, officer?" The man opened his mouth, probably to plead, but Graves didn't wait. He pulled the trigger. He had heard too many men plead and it was always 'please let me go, I have kids' or 'please, I won't tell anyone'. The man just didn't have the patience to hear it again.

"Told you, Lukov. I've got it all under control," he said to himself, grinning maniacally. Graves stepped over dead man, leaving the place – and the body – behind him without turning back. He'd stopped feeling remorse for the dead a long time ago. But here, the guard was the least of his problems.

He was only here for the girl.

* * *

Soon enough, Adelaide was back out on the street, where there were lights and a crowd. The city seemed to be ignoring the fact that it was 2 in the morning and it was only slightly less crowded than it was during the daytime. Adelaide made herself visible again before merging into the crowd. She didn't have any money to take a cab back to the Tower, but it wasn't far so she just decided to walk. It would give her more time to think _._

 _Our daughter will avenge us._

She knew what her power was, but she still couldn't understand why she needed to use it to avenge her parents. Why did that man kill them? What had they done? She still was still missing something important. There was something from her past that she didn't know yet and it seemed to be the one thing that would answer all her questions. But her mind was still stubbornly blank and Adelaide couldn't remember anything no matter how hard she tried. She was going to have to get her answers from somewhere else. Maybe she could find someone from her past who would be able to give her the answers she wanted and maybe there was a chance she would be able to find out how she lost her memory in the first place. There must be –

"Hey! Watch it kid!" Adelaide had accidentally bumped into man who was walking next to her, lost in her thoughts. The teenager lost her balance, falling into oncoming traffic.

Adelaide looked up and her eyes locked onto a truck racing towards her. Her body seemed to freeze in place. She couldn't see anything but the truck and how fast it was coming towards her. The truck was only 2 seconds away and by the time she had control over her body again, but it was too late. She closed her eyes, instinctively covering her face.

Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted off the ground moments before the truck made impact. Adelaide opened her eyes, dazed. She was in the air, flying over the city, the truck left behind her. The teenager was being carried by a pair of red and yellow metal arms. She looked up to find herself face to face with Iron Man.

"Tony?" He ignored her and continued to look ahead. Adelaide looked around. He was taking her towards the Tower, landing perfectly on the top. He put her down and stepped out of the suit. Adelaide hadn't seen Tony look this angry when she had his arm pinned behind his back. He walked past Adelaide, not acknowledging her.

"Tony." He stopped. Then, he marched back to her.

" _What_ _the_ _hell_ were you thinking?" he yelled, "You almost died out there tonight." Adelaide stayed silent.

"Tell me," he said, his voice cold, "what was so important that you had to leave the security of this Tower and wander through a city that you don't know your way around at 2 in the morning? What was it, Adie? What was so important that you almost died for it tonight?"

"It was my memory." Tony stopped, listening. "My parents…they said that I had some kind of power. I had to find out what it was." Tony watched the teenager as she fumbled for words. The same teenager who had his arm pinned behind his back this morning was struggling to find the right words to say now. The billionaire was reminded that she was still just a teenager and softened slightly.

"Did you find out?" he asked quietly. Adelaide nodded, forgetting the incident that had almost taken place seconds before.

"Well, what is it?"

"I can control light," she answered, feeling the buzzing energy in her veins again. Adelaide altered the light around her to make herself seem as if she was inside the Iron Man suit. Then, she made it disappear and made a clone of herself appear. As the clone vanished, so did she. Adelaide walked around Tony, standing behind him before making herself visible again. She tapped his shoulder. He jumped, turning around. His gaze got cloudy, as if he was deep in thought about something.

"You're forgiven," he said a moment later, "but first, turn your hair back to brown. Red's not your color." Adelaide reached up to touch her hair.

"I thought it looked nice," she said. He shook his head.

"Brown." Adelaide rolled her eyes and turned it back to brown.

"And second, why are your eyes glowing?" The teenager shrugged.

"I think they glow whenever I use my power. I can't help it." Adelaide briefly thought about the girl in the car.

"I'd say that's strange, but so is the ability to manipulate light." He yawned. "You know what," he said, "we'll deal with this tomorrow. I'm too tired to be a genius right now."

The teenager agreed. She felt as if she could fall asleep right where she was standing, she was that tired. Adelaide followed Tony into the penthouse, holding back a yawn of her own. Inside, it was dark and silent. Tony stopped her.

"Not a word of this to Pepper, do you understand?" he whispered. Adelaide nodded obediently. She knew that Pepper would get really worked up over this especially after she had told Adelaide to give it some time. Yeah, it was best if Pepper didn't find out that Adelaide had almost died tonight.

Suddenly, the lights turned on, revealing a very cross Pepper standing in the room. Tony halted, looking like a deer caught in headlights. As menacing as Pepper looked, Adelaide tried not to laugh at Tony's expression.

"Not a word of what to me, Tony?" she asked, crossing her arms. Adelaide could hear Tony mumble underneath his breath.

"Damn."

"Well, Adie and I were just out for a walk," he lied, "You know, fresh air and…other…healthy stuff. Right, Adie?" He subtly nudged her with his elbow and Adelaide nodded immediately. Pepper obviously didn't believe a word. She uncrossed her arms, revealing the tv remote in her hand, and switched the tv on. Adelaide's attention turned to the giant flat screen against the wall as it streamed live news.

 _"_ _The public came very close experiencing a very gruel incident that almost took place here in Midtown Manhattan, but it was prevented thanks to our favorite, Iron Man. Let's see some footage of what happened now."_

The screen switched to a shaky video of Adelaide taken from the sidewalk. She was on the road, frozen from fear in front of the truck. Adelaide winced. Although the footage didn't show her face, it made her look weak and she hated that. She cursed at herself for not having control over her own body. A second before the truck hit her, Iron Man flew in and swooped her off the road. The crowd was cheering and then the video cut off. Pepper switched the tv off and Adelaide stared at her reflection in it. She looked like a mess.

"Last time I checked, going for a walk didn't include getting hit by truck or the Iron Man suit," Pepper said.

"In case you were wondering, I already scolded Adie so we can all go to bed now and discuss this tomorrow when it's not 2 a.m. in the morning," Tony said, beginning to walk away. Adelaide winced as she watched Pepper grow angrier. That was definitely not the right thing to say.

"Oh, so you just tell Adelaide to not do something like this again and then pretend like it didn't happen? Tony, Adelaide almost died tonight under out watch! We can't just ignore that."

"I wasn't ignoring it."

"You weren't even going to tell me!"

"I was going to, just not right now. Tomorrow," he said. Pepper turned to Adelaide, taking a deep breath.

"Adelaide, go to your room and wait for me there," she said. If it was anyone else, Adelaide would have argued, but this was Pepper and she was furious. She left without a word.

In her room, she sat at the foot of her bed again, legs crossed. She could hear Tony and Pepper arguing, but she couldn't make out what they were saying exactly. Adelaide knew it was about her, though. She had been careless tonight and this had been the result. It was her fault they were arguing. She unconsciously ran her fingers over her scar. Now that she knew she had powers, she would have to use them carefully. The teenager still didn't know who the man who killed her parents was or even why he did it, but until she found out, she decided it would be best if she kept her powers to herself. Without knowing her past, it was too dangerous to tell anyone. Soon, Adelaide realized that it was silent once again. They had stopped fighting.

There was a knock on the door, and Pepper walked in.

"Hey," Adelaide said quietly. Pepper carefully took a seat next to her. For a moment, it was completely silent. Then, Adelaide spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Pepper. I shouldn't have ran out like that. It was my fault and Tony was just trying to help. He saved my life."

"I know," she said softly, "We talked it out." Adelaide watched her carefully.

"So you two are good?" she asked. Pepper smiled gently.

"Yeah, we're good, but he's sleeping on the couch for tonight." This made Adelaide laugh. A grown man, billionaire, running a multi-billion dollar corporation, sleeping on the couch tonight because he got in trouble. He was going to get an earful of jokes from her tomorrow.

"But we still need to talk about what happened," Pepper said, dropping her smile. She was being serious again. "What were you thinking, Adelaide? You almost died tonight. Why did you leave and where in the world did you go? You don't even know your way around the city yet." Adelaide decided to tell her the truth. Her gut told her that she could trust her.

"In my memory, I heard my parents talking. They said that I have some kind of power that would make me the most powerful person in the world. They said that I would avenge them. I wanted to figure out what that power was and why I was supposed to avenge them. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I found out the truth so…I went on a power hunt," she said. Thinking about it now, her idea to search for her power was a little – no, it was very stupid. She wanted to scold herself for coming up with such a stupid idea. She knew she was smarter than this, but her curiosity had blinded her.

"But you could have searched for it tomorrow. Tony and I would've helped." Adelaide nodded, filled with guilt and anger towards herself. She had just caused more problems for everyone. The two of them sat in silence for a little while until Pepper spoke up.

"You realize there's going to be consequences for this, right?" Adelaide winced. Somehow, she had seen this coming. She might not have known Pepper for very long at all, but this was expected. "From now on, you are not allowed to leave the Tower unless Tony, Happy, or I am with you. And you are definitely not allowed to sneak out in the middle of the night.

"So I'm staying here?" Adelaide asked quietly. Pepper stopped, dropping her anger in a heartbeat.

"Of course – I thought we already decided that you were going to stay here until your memories come back or we find your home again."

"I know, I just…never mind," Adelaide said. It was stupid anyways.

"What is it, Adelaide?" Pepper asked quietly. Adelaide shrugged.

"It's just…you guys are being so nice and I don't…This morning, when I was with Tony, he tapped my shoulder unexpectedly and I impulsively pinned his arm behind his back before I realized it was him. I know I can't remember anything from my past, but I'm worried, Pepper. If my first instinct was to twist someone's arm behind their back, then I'm not sure about the person I was before this. In my memory, there was this man who killed my parents and I still can't figure out why. Honestly, with everything going on…I don't know if I was safer then, or if I'm safer now." Adelaide felt as if she had lifted a big weight off her chest. Ever since she found out about her power, she couldn't stop thinking about her past. What if she had misused her power in the past?

"Adelaide, I know you can't remember anything, but thinking the worst about yourself isn't going to make this any better. Whatever your past is, you can't change it anymore," Pepper said. She gently placed her hand on the teenager's arm. "And I can promise you, you won't be as safe anywhere else as safe as you are here."

Adelaide nodded, but she wasn't reassured yet. The teenager didn't trust herself. She didn't know what she was capable of. Until she found out the whole truth, she wouldn't feel comfortable in her own skin and no amount of safety could protect her from herself.

What Adelaide Rivers didn't know was that she didn't need to be protected from herself, but rather the truth.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I didn't get to see Spider-Man: Homecoming outside because it rained. And I was really looking forward to it. :/**

 **Anyway, this chapter is shorter than the last one (really, it's half the last chapter) and this is the last chapter I have written and edited so the next chapter might or might not be updated in two days. I have chapter 5 finished for the most part, but I still need to edit it because it's an important chapter to the plot and I need to make sure that I don't give too much away.**

 **This chapter is short mainly because it's a filler and I really like these two guys working together (hint: they always make the problem worse when they do) and because I need to use this chapter to set up the next one. There's one newish character, more Pepper and Irondad parenting, more anxiety, and a lottt more questions. Because who doesn't love a million unanswered questions? Oh, you don't? Sorry :)**

 **Thanks to _lizlil, Loveisforever12_ , and _minnatarek_ for following, favoriting, or leaving a review! It really means a lot that you guys like this story! **

**Also, _lizlil_ : I am so glad you like Adie's power! I love it too; I knew that was going to be her power from the beginning because it just fits her so perfectly. And thank you for leaving such nice reviews! I really enjoy reading them!**

* * *

 _"It's all_ _just a_ _theory."_

* * *

Morning came too early. Adelaide couldn't fall asleep until 4 am and her eyes were wide open at 7. After tossing and turning for an hour, she decided to get dressed because she knew wasn't going to get any more sleep. Three hours would have to do. She begrudgingly trotted into the bathroom, not even bothering to look at her reflection. Her dark circles weren't going to help her feel any more awake than she already was. She washed the chlorine out from her hair and when she stepped out of the shower, she noticed the clothes on her bed. It was from Pepper's closet, she concluded when the shirt fell off her shoulder.

For a minute, she just sat there, running her fingers over her scar over and over again. It was pretty faint, but she ironically felt a sense of safety knowing it was there. Sighing, she pulled her sleeve over it.

She left her room, her stomach leading her into the kitchen. Tony was sitting there, one hand holding up his head and the other holding a glass of juice. He was barely awake and didn't notice her come in. Adelaide smirked. She opened the fridge and shut it loudly, making him jolt awake and accidentally spill the glass of juice onto himself. Adelaide laughed quietly.

"I'm guessing the couch wasn't too comfortable?" she asked teasingly. He grumbled something under his breath, standing up.

"You've been waiting to say that since last night, haven't you?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Maybe." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Don't think you've won," he muttered, walking past her in anger. Adelaide laughed after she heard his footsteps fade away down the hall and poured herself a glass of juice. She realized the tv was on and the news were playing.

 _"_ _Last night, two officials found a man dead at the local swi-"_

She jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder, spilling the juice all over herself. The teenager swung around ready to fight him, but he was already down the hall.

"Tony!" she yelled angrily, but all she got was laughter. She looked down at herself; the shirt and pants were both ruined. Adelaide marched back to her room and pulled out the pants and shirt that she was wearing when she came here. Someone must have washed them, she realized. She quickly pulled them on and went back into the kitchen. Tony still wasn't there. He must be taking a shower again. Adelaide laughed to herself. They were even now, she decided.

"Uh, hi."

Adelaide turned around, surprised to see someone sitting on the couch. She narrowed her eyes. She had seen him somewhere before…

"Bruce Banner?" He laughed nervously. For some reason, this girl intimidated him.

"That's me. And I'm guessing you're Adelaide. Happy said I could let myself in. Tony called me yesterday. He said it was an emergency and I flew in from Hong Kong this morning. Judging by your expression, I'm going to guess that he didn't tell you I was coming."

"Of course he didn't," she said, taking a seat across from him, "He's Tony." The two shared a knowing look. Adelaide might not have known Tony for long, but she knew that his mind lived in its own little world and sometimes he forgot that other people existed.

"Adie," Tony said, walking into the room. He was wearing a new shirt and his hair was still dripping wet. "Oh, Banner. You're here. Great. Let's go." Bruce stood up with Adelaide following suit.

"Uh, Tony? What's the emergency?" Bruce asked, looking simultaneously worried and confused. Adelaide had the same question.

"Oh," Tony said, somehow surprised he didn't know, "It's her." He pointed at Adelaide and began walking away. Bruce and Adelaide shared an equally confused look and followed after Tony. He led them to his workplace which Adelaide recognized. She had been here yesterday.

"Jarvis, pull up every detail about light controlling abilities," Tony said to no one in particular. Adelaide looked around the room, confused. Suddenly, a British-accented voice spoke up.

"Doing it now, sir." A hologram appeared over the center of the room, filled with tons of research. There were hundreds of pages filled with research and about a million graphs. Adelaide studied it carefully. She skimmed the pages of experiments and papers written about the results, but the one word that kept popping up in every line was –

"Theory," Bruce said, "They all say theory."

"Exactly," Tony said, walking around the table and coming towards them. Bruce looked baffled.

"Tony, what are you saying? This research proves that controlling light isn't possible. It's all just a theory." Adelaide could see Tony's gears spinning.

"See, that's where you're wrong. It's not just a theory," Tony said, looking excited. Oh no, Adelaide thought. She had to stop this.

"Tony," she said sternly, catching his attention. She ignored Bruce's confused look. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He followed her outside the room, leaving Bruce to study the hologram by himself.

"What are you doing?" Adelaide asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, right before you interrupted, I was just about to prove Banner wrong," he said.

"Exactly! Why are you telling him my secret? I only told you and Pepper because I trust you. I don't even know the guy!"

"Tell me," Tony said, unfazed, "do you want to learn more about your powers or not?"

"I can do that myself!"

"Yeah? And how's that turning out for you? Do you know where you got them from yet? How you got them?" As annoyingly cocky as Tony was being, Adelaide knew he was right. If she was going to find out more about herself, she knew she was going to have to trust other people. She couldn't turn to herself and expect the memories to come flooding back suddenly. The one that she had was bad enough, she had a feeling she might not want to relive all of them. Her best bet was getting help. And as much as she hated it, Tony was right. Maybe she didn't know Bruce Banner personally, but she did remember seeing him on the news. If he could save New York from being destroyed by aliens, then maybe he did have a little good in his heart. And maybe to rest of the Avengers too, but Adelaide decided that that was too many people at once. She didn't think that she would ever meet the rest of the Avengers so that wasn't her immediate problem.

"Earth to Adie," Tony said, snapping his fingers in front of her.

"Fine," she said, "I'll let him help." He grinned, ruffling her hair. She frowned, hurrying to put it back into place again and followed him into the room.

* * *

It was nighttime again and Bruce and Tony still hadn't left the lab. Turns out, after she gave them a small blood sample and a full body scan, they didn't need her. She spent her day testing her powers again and wandering around the penthouse aimlessly. Pepper was out for some business-related work and wouldn't be back until night. Even now, Adelaide still had an hour to kill before she came.

According to Pepper, Adelaide's punishment still stood and she wasn't allowed to leave without her, Tony, or Happy. Pepper wasn't here, Happy had gone with her, and Tony was lost in his own little world where only geniuses were allowed. Apparently, Adelaide didn't count. Walking around the penthouse for the third time got boring and the tv was not helping either. Finally, Tony and Bruce's voice emerged from the stairs. Adelaide let out a sigh of relief.

They were in the middle of a conversation as they wandered towards the couch she was sitting on. The two geniuses didn't even seem to notice that the teenager sitting there.

"From how I see it, Tony, I think you should tell the rest of the team," Bruce said. The team? As in the Avengers? They were going to tell the Avengers? Adelaide had taken two days to trust two of them, how was she going to be able to tell the whole team? Luckily, Tony had her covered.

"Yeah, no. I don't think that's the best idea," he said.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, she wouldn't want that and two, it's too risky. She's safer staying out of the media and the spotlight."

"If she's not remembering anything, then you're not getting anywhere," Bruce reasoned, "The team has connections everywhere dealing with stuff like this. Powers, strange abilities, that's what they're good at. Even if it's just a small detail, it could help. Even then, it's her decision." He nodded his head towards Adelaide. They both looked at her expectantly. She looked caught off guard.

"What? Do I have to decide right now?" Adelaide asked. Bruce didn't know that she already had a memory. What if she didn't need their help remembering? What if she told them and they were no help? Tony shrugged.

"He makes a point," Tony said, "but you can decide whenever you want. I say we call them here this weekend." Bruce watched the teenager carefully. The girl looked scared and vulnerable, but was doing her best to hide it by acting intimidating. Sure, if he had woken up at Tony's house and couldn't remember anything at all, he'd be a little scared too. Plus, that'd be weird.

"Look, Adelaide, the decision is 100 percent yours, but I've looked at your blood sample and body scan. The chemical composition of your blood and cell structure is unlike anything I've ever seen. One thing I can say for certain is that you weren't born with your powers. They were given to you. For what reason, I'm not sure, but if you can't remember how you used them before you woke up at the Tower, then maybe we need to look into your past. Try and find why you have these abilities," Bruce said. The man looked genuinely concerned about her. "I know you've thought about this too."

She caught his eye. She had thought about this. It was what had kept her up all night. Adelaide wanted answers more than anything and here was a chance to maybe get them. As risky as it was, she'd look at the consequences later. Her mind was set. She took a deep breath before giving her decision.

"You're right," she said, "I'll tell them."

Once again, she had let her curiosity control her.

* * *

Bruce had left after their conversation, and Adelaide was using the tv to distract her mind. It was swarming with questions, as usual. Tony had gone to call the rest of the team to the Tower this weekend and Pepper was supposed to back any minute now. Adelaide's mind wandered back to the memory. Her parents had been worried about her safety. They knew someone was after her. Could it be the man who killed her parents? If he had killed them and didn't kill her, then how was he a threat? It just didn't make sense. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the sofa dip next to her. It was Tony.

"So? Are they coming?" she asked, referring to the team.

To her disappointment or relief, Tony nodded. Adelaide still wasn't sure about this idea, but she still had a few days to get used to it before the weekend came. She hoped this was for the best.

"Most of them are here in New York, but the rest are going to be here in the next couple days." Adelaide nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Hey, are you sure about this?" Tony asked.

"What do I have to lose?" Adelaide shrugged.

"Lose what?" Pepper asked, walking into the room. Adelaide turned around.

"You're back," she said, making room for Pepper next to her. Pepper sat down, looking at Tony and then at Adelaide.

"So what did you two do today?" Pepper asked, noticing their peculiar behavior.

"Oh, so you _can_ notice the tension? Well, I called Banner over today to look at Adie's situation," he said, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

"Oh really? Well, what did he say?" Pepper asked. Adelaide and Pepper both followed Tony into the kitchen. He was waiting for his coffee, sitting on the island. Adelaide leaned against the countertop while Pepper prepared a cup for herself.

"He thinks we should tell the rest of the team. See if they know anything," Tony said. Pepper glanced at Adelaide.

"What did you tell him?"

"Adie decided that she wanted to tell the team. I called them to come over this weekend." Pepper turned around, grinning widely.

"That's great, Adelaide! I'm sure at least one of them knows something that can help," she said. Adelaide shrugged.

"I hope so." Pepper titled her head to the side, dropping her smile.

"What's wrong?"

"I want to get answers and I'm sure about my decision to tell them – I'm not backing out – but what if they can't help me? What am I supposed to do then?"

"Then," Pepper said, leaning against the countertop across from Adelaide, "we'll look for another way to get answers. Until we find them."

"Worst case scenario," Tony said, shrugging, "you're stuck with us." Adelaide laughed, a good kind of feeling settling into her chest.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Let me just start off by saying I had so much fun writing this chapter. It's the one where Adie will meet the Avengers (finally lol) and I've obviously been dying to get this one out. I'm really excited about it because it reveals a little part of Adie's past and just barely shows all the details. But not too much because we can't leave Adie without questions, of course. It's really fun to be able to get in all the Avenger's heads and write from their point of view cuz they're all low-key crazy and like toddlers sometimes lol. My favorite was Thor.**

 **So next chapter we might (or might not, depending on how fast I can plan it) see Peter. Probably. Maybe. I don't know. I hope we do because that's why I started writing this fic in the first place lol. Speaking of Peter, I think Tom has started filming Far From Home already and I believe he's filming in Atlanta, although I don't know if he's there right now. BUT GUESS WHO'S GOING TO ATLANTA TOMORROW. MEEEEE. AND I MIGHT SEE HIM. I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK IN ADVANCE. I have every finger I have crossed in hopes that he's there when I go because I love his smol bean little self to death. Don't be surprised if you don't get the next chapter because I died from a Tom Holland sighting in Atlanta lol. I wouldn't be surprised. I am going for two days so my wifi will be on and off. I have started chapter 6, but it is nowhere near finished and I won't be able to upload until I come home so sorry about that. Just a heads up, there's going to be a small time skip in the next chapter. I'll try my best to upload by Monday, but even then, I'm not too sure. It depends on how fast I plan. Which is pretty fast if I can get myself to actually focus. That repeatedly proves to be hard. Hm.**

 **Thank you to _lizlil, Thelastfewtimestoremember,_ _avatarange_ , and _Aunknowntimelord_ for either following, favoriting, and/or leaving a review! The fact that you actually enjoy this story keeps me going! **

**_lizlil_ : Thanks for giving me the great idea of making Bruce into an uncle figure for Adie! I originally didn't realize it, but I can definitely see that happening! I'm probably going to make the two team up on Tony at some point lol.**

* * *

 _"Quit telling people_

 _I'm an emergency."_

* * *

After tossing and turning all night, Adelaide had to force herself to get up in the morning. She groaned, rolling out of bed. Today's the day, she thought, where I might get some real damn answers.

It was later than usual and Adelaide decided to go straight to the kitchen. From the hall, she could hear a lot of voices coming from the kitchen, but, barely being awake, she assumed it was just Tony and Pepper talking. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to straighten it and pulled down her shirt to try and look a little put-together. Coffee. She needed coffee.

"Hey Pepper can you – дрисня." She stopped in her tracks, noticing the whole kitchen was full of superheroes or, more specifically, the Avengers. They were all seated around the big island, eating breakfast. Tony and Bruce were deep in discussion about something while Steve and Natasha were playing with one of Clint's arrows. He looked unamused. Thor had invested himself into thoroughly enjoying a pop tart. He was the first to notice her, grinning widely.

"Adelaide!" he said in a booming voice that made everyone turn around and notice the messy-haired girl in her wrinkled pajamas. Adelaide had the sudden urge to run back into her room and change, but it was too late now. She waved awkwardly.

"Uh, hi…" she said, walking towards them. Thor made room for her to sit next to him, putting his hammer in Tony's lap. Tony groaned.

"Really, Thor?" he asked, but Thor either wasn't paying attention or was just ignoring the billionaire.

"Adelaide," Thor said, "you must try these pop tarts. They are absolutely delicious." He handed her the one in his hand, which was almost finished. She smiled.

"Thanks, but I'm more of a coffee person," she said. He shrugged, finishing it off in one bite. A cup of coffee appeared in front of her and Adelaide realize it was Pepper who had put it there.

"Thanks," she said, grateful. Pepper smiled.

"See you tonight," she said, grabbing her purse, "Bye guys! And if you have to fight an alien, then, please, take it outside." A chorus of goodbyes and okays came from the kitchen table as Pepper left.

"So," Natasha said, turning around, a small smile on her face. She looked at Adelaide. "We're not fighting any aliens today, right?"

"Well, no," Tony said, "Unless you count Adie." Adelaide tossed a sugar packet at him, turning back to the redhead.

"No, you won't have to fight any aliens today," Adelaide said to her, mimicking the smile on the assassin's face. Steve snapped his fingers, pretending to look disappointed.

"And I was hoping to kick ass today," he said, making Adelaide laugh. Meeting them in person, she felt like she could trust them.

"Hey, Thor, you know what would be really great right now?" Tony asked.

"More pop tarts?" he said with his mouth full of one. Adelaide had lost track of how many he'd eaten by now. Five? Six?

"I'll give you more if you take your hammer off my lap," he bribed. Thor chuckled.

"No, it's much too entertaining to watch you struggle," the god said, biting into another pop tart. Tony gave turned to Bruce and gave him an exasperated look. Bruce nodded his head, as if telling him to calm down. Adelaide bit back a smile as Tony frowned, looking like a spoiled little boy.

"So what's this arrow do?" Natasha asked Clint, spinning a sleek, black arrow around in her hand. Clint snatched it away.

"It explodes when it hits something," he said, putting it back. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"So why'd you bring it here again?" the super soldier asked. Clint glared at him.

"You never know when there's an emergency," he said. Steve nodded his head sarcastically in agreement.

"Speaking of emergency," Steve said, looking at Tony, "What's the emergency, Stark? You called us to come here as fast as we could."

"Her," the billionaire said, nodding towards Adelaide, "She's the emergency." Everyone looked at her and she threw another sugar packet at his head.

"Quit telling people I'm an emergency," she grumbled.

"So what's your thing, kid?" Clint asked, snatching another arrow back from Natasha. Adelaide caught Tony's eye and he gave her an encouraging wink, still trying to get Thor's hammer off his lap. Adelaide had had enough practice to be able to use her power without thinking now.

She stood up, transforming the whole room to make it seem like they were on the streets of Manhattan. The team looked around, confused. A man walked right through Thor, unaffected. Thor held up his hammer, ready to fight. With a small smirk on her face, Adelaide made the hammer in his hand disappear and reappear in hers, making it seem as if she was holding it. The whole team, especially Thor, eyed her curiously.

One last thing, she decided. Adelaide made an Chitauri alien appear between them and almost immediately, everyone expect for Tony or Bruce switched into a fighting position. Natasha tried to stab it with a knife, but her blade went right through.

Adelaide erased the illusion and they were back at the Tower, sitting around the island. The team scanned the room for any more aliens; they relaxed when they didn't find any.

"I said you won't have to fight any aliens today and you won't," Adelaide said. Clint caught her eye and raised his eyebrow.

"Seriously, what the hell?" he asked.

"I can control light," Adelaide said carefully, "Everything that just happened, it was an illusion. I can even make myself invisible or more images of myself." She caught Bruce's eye and he gave he a thumbs up.

Next to her, Thor was staring at the island, his eyes far away and sad.

"Like my brother," Thor said, "He could shapeshift or make an image of himself."

Adelaide nodded.

"Yeah, kinda like that," she said softly. Tony had told her that Loki had passed away recently and despite the fact that Loki had allowed aliens to invade New York and trash the city, Thor still loved his brother.

"So where did you get this ability from?" Steve asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. Adelaide sighed.

"That's the thing," she said, "Five days ago, I woke up here at the Tower and, for some reason, I can't remember anything from my life before that. I'm blank."

"You've been wiped," Natasha said, looking deep in thought, "With powers like that, someone must want you for them. But what I can't understand, is why they would take your memories."

Steve looked at the teenager. Natasha was right. With those powers, she had to have some kind of past. It's not a coincidence she lost her memories and woke up at the Stark Tower, of all places. They were missing something here. Admittedly, Steve couldn't help but be suspicious. Although the teenager looked honest, he'd seen plenty of people who'd do anything for power.

"You can't remember anything at all?" the super soldier asked carefully. Adelaide fiddled with the sugar packet in her hand.

"I did have one memory…" she said, looking at her hands. Everyone looked at her expectantly. She told them everything from the conversation her parents had, the accident, the man with the gun, everything. Steve was thinking hard after the teenager told him her story. Something about that seemed familiar.

"What did you say your father's name was again?" he asked her. She caught his eye.

"Henry. Henry Rivers."

Rivers…the super soldier had heard that somewhere. Suddenly, it hit him. The teenager's story did check out. While he was still in the army, he was good friends with a man named Richard Rivers. Richard was a good, honest man with a clear heart. The two had fought alongside each other many times. Steve remembered meeting Richard's family one day; it was just him, his wife, and their son, Henry Rivers. Henry was a scientist at heart. The super soldier remembered how excited the boy had been when Richard took him to their lab. Steve had never seen anyone so happy. After he had woken up from the ice, he learned that Richard had died a war hero and his son, Henry and his wife had passed away at a terribly young age, yet no one knew how. Although, Steve did know that they were both SHIELD agents. Maybe that had something to do with their death.

"What is it, Steve?" Natasha asked. He realized that he had been glaring hard at Adelaide while thinking. He shook his head, rubbing his face.

"Nothing, it's just…I knew Henry when he was little," he said. Adelaide's face lit up. She couldn't believe her ears. She wanted to hug the super soldier, but she held back.

"You did? Do you know what happened to him?" the teenager asked eagerly. To her disappointment, he shook his head.

"No…I knew his father, Richard Rivers. He fought in the war with me and he was a good man. Richard had taken me to meet his family and that was when I met Henry. He was still a kid at the time, but he loved chemistry and physics more than you could imagine anyone ever loving anything. Richard had brought him to the lab one day and Henry got so happy, he almost didn't leave." Steve laughed quietly at the memory. It was a few days before he had gone into the ice and it was one the few good memories he had in that last week. The super soldier looked at Adelaide. The teenager looked more vulnerable than ever. He gave her a small smile. She really was lost.

"Do you know anything else about him?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The whole room was silent, listening.

"After that, I was in the ice…when I woke up, they told me that Richard had died in the war and Henry and his wife were killed, but no one knew how. At the time, they were both SHILED agents. The big mystery was that Rivers' daughter went missing the night they died and no one had seen her since. I guess, that was you. I don't know if that has anything to do with how they died, but it might help you find some answers," he said. Adelaide watched the super soldier with sad eyes. He looked tired. Fighting for his country, he had lost everyone he knew. The world he lived in, it was completely gone when he woke up. Everything he knew, gone. And yet, he was here and he was making the most of it.

"Thank you," Adelaide said quietly. There was no way she could express how grateful she was for him at the moment. He had helped her find answers. Real answers. Thanks to him, she might actually be able to find the whole truth.

"So you're telling me that this kid has been missing for who knows how long and then she turns up at the Tower five days ago with no memory of anything?" Clint asked. He let out a low whistle. "That's rough."

"See? I'm telling you, it just spells out alien," Tony said, sipping his coffee. Adelaide tossed another sugar packet at his head.

"Leave your hammer in his lap as a punishment," she told Thor. He grinned, looking as if he was seriously considering it.

"Any more sugar and Stark's gonna be bouncing off the walls," Steve said, leaning back his chair with a smirk. Tony gave him a look.

"Hilarious, Captain," he remarked. Adelaide noticed Natasha rolling her eyes.

"Do you remember what the man who killed your parents looked like?" the assassin asked. Adelaide shook her head.

"No, not really. It was too dark. All I know is that he had black hair and he was kind of pale. I doubt that'll help," she said.

"I don't think we can identify him with just that much information," Bruce said, shaking his head. The team seemed to agree.

"If your parents were Shield agents, then we can look into some archives to find out more information," Natasha said. Steve nodded his head.

"We can talk to Fury," he said.

"I'll call him," Tony said, pulling out his phone and putting it on speaker. Everyone watched him struggle, amused. It took him longer than usual with the hammer on his lap and he gave Thor a side glare. Thor winked at Adelaide, a grin on his face. Adelaide returned the smile. Sure, they were a strange bunch, but they were a good strange bunch. They got things done.

"This better be important, Stark," Fury said, picking up. He sounded like he was somewhere windy.

"We need you to look for Henry and Ava Rivers in your archives," Tony said. There was some shuffling on Fury's end and then the sound of a door closing. It was much quieter now, the howling of the wind gone.

"We?" Fury asked. Adelaide could hear other people talking in the background.

"We, the Avengers…and Henry's daughter." They heard some footsteps and then the background voices got louder. It sounded like a workplace.

"Get me the files for Agent Henry and Ava Rivers," they heard Fury tell someone. Adelaide caught Tony's eye and he looked at the hammer in his lap and then back at her. She smiled sheepishly, shrugging.

"Sir, their files are empty," another voice said. She felt her stomach drop and the smile from her face vanished. Another dead end.

"Empty? What do you mean empty? Let me see that," Fury said.

"There's nothing there, just their names." The Avengers all shared a look. Something was wrong here. SHIELD was protected with top notch security and the world's best agents. How could something go missing?

"Well I'll be damned," Fury said, "It really is empty." Adelaide closed her eyes. So close. They were so close. But they still didn't get the answers – just more questions.

"Sorry, Stark," Fury said, "I've got nothing here." Tony nodded, looking deep in thought. Adelaide could almost see the gears in his head spinning.

"Thanks Fury," Tony said, ending the call. Steve looked at the teenager and then at Natasha. The assassin gave him a curious look. They were both thinking the same thing. Something just didn't add up here. It wasn't just a coincidence that their files were empty. And with the powers Adelaide had…yeah, they were definitely missing something.

"Someone doesn't want us to know the truth," Steve said. Bruce nodded.

"But why? Why go so many lengths to hide it?" Bruce asked.

"Because it's something big," Tony said, still looking deep in thought, "If someone is willing to break into the SHIELD archives just to cover their tracks, then it's gotta be something big."

Adelaide felt like her head was about to explode. Why would someone do that? What was so important? And what did it have to do with her? She knew looking into her past would just bring more headaches, but now she was left with even more questions than what she began with and an even bigger headache than she expected.

"It's gotta do with the time she went missing," Clint said, "That's the only part we don't know." Steve caught the teenager's eye.

"You can't remember anything? What happened after that night?" he asked, "What about that man?" Adelaide shook her head, feeling useless.

"I don't remember a thing. I don't even know how I remember that night in the first place," she answered. Everyone slumped back in their seats. There were just going in circles. It was pointless. They were silent for a while until Adelaide spoke up.

"Now what?" The question lingered in the air, creating more confusion and more tension.

"We keep looking," Tony said after a while. Adelaide looked at him.

"Looking where? Everything we look into is a dead end," she said. Bruce looked the teenager.

"He's right," Bruce said, "You've gotta keep looking, Adelaide. You'll find something eventually."

"Yeah, no one can cover their tracks that good," Steve said, "We'll find something."

Adelaide hoped they were right. She had a feeling they weren't going to find anything unless that man wanted them to. He was the reason behind all of this. The teenager suspected he took her memories and now he was being extra careful to cover his tracks. Why he was going through all this trouble, Adelaide didn't know. She suspected it had to do with the part of her past that she couldn't remember. The night after her parents were killed. Whoever he was, Adelaide would find him and she wouldn't rest until she did.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: PLEASE READ**

 **This chapter is really late and I'm sorry, I got back from Atlanta a couple days ago and with all the unpacking and people coming over to our house, I seriously haven't had time to write much. But I have been planning like a million plot points like a madwoman and it's taken ages trying to straighten everything out. The notes app in my phone is so full. I can literally tell you where every character in the MCU was during each movie and now I don't have any room in my head for anything else. Just MCU. Oh, and Tom Holland daydreams. On a side note, I didn't see him in Atlanta. :(**

 **Anyway, this past week of planning has been a bit confusing and I've changed a few things so I'm going to lay it all out for you guys. Let's start with the thing I've changed.**

 **I warned you guys that Adelaide's age isn't set in stone and so I'm changing it. Her birthday is in August and in this specific chapter it's February and she's going to the last few months of 8th grade which means she's gonna be 13 years old.** **Okay now I'm going to layout the whole timeline just so we're on the same page. Also, just note that this story started on January 1, 2014.**

 **The Avengers happens in 2012**

 **Iron Man 3 happens in 2013**

 **Captain America: The Winter Soldier happens in January 2014 (So this chapter is set just after it, though it's really just happening in the background)**

 **Age of Ultron happens in March 2015 (freshman year)**

 **Peter becomes Spider-Man happens in December 2016 (freshman year)**

 **Civil War happens in June 2016 (sophomore year)**

 **Spider-Man: Homecoming happens in September 2016 (sophomore year)**

 **And I still need to find out about Infinity War but that's still a long ways away so we're good for now.**

 **So this is kinda what my notes app looks like right about now. Add a million asterisks and side notes and you get the picture. I know that this probably seems messy and disorganized, but I've decided to make this fic something I make up as I go because I've noticed that when I try to plan a story before I write it, I end up giving up on it because I lose interest. And I definitely don't want to stop writing this story because I'm 100% here for it. I'll have this all organized, I promise, but until then, thank you for sticking with me through all this mess. This story means a lot to me and I'm going to make sure it's perfect.**

 **This chapter is the longest chapter yet and a lot of things happen. For one, Peter meets Adie. I know you guys have been excited about that because I know I have. We get to see some new characters like Ned, Flash, and Michelle. Oh and we get to see Happy again because we haven't seen him in a while now. With Peter and Adie's relationship, I tried to make them become friends instantly, but this is Peter before he was bitten so his ego is kinda deflated. Although, until he does get bitten, I do want to put some more tension between the two because I don't want them to get together without any problems, of course. After Peter gets bitten, then we'll see a lotttt more tension.**

 **Without further ado, the longly awaited chapter 6!**

 **Remember: Adie's in late 8th grade and she's now 13 years old.**

* * *

 _"The money she gets from_

 _selling the drugs helps_

 _her pay off her teachers_

 _t_ _o expel her."_

* * *

 _ONE MONTH LATER_

"Tony."

"No."

"It's been a month!" Pepper argued.

"I don't care. I'm not sending her to that prison." Pepper sighed. She rubbed her forehead, as if she were rubbing away an impending headache.

"It's not a prison and you know it. Don't make it sound so negative," she said. The billionaire looked unaffected, staring at the tv. Pepper glanced at the tv and snatched the remote from her boyfriend's hand, switching it off. He stubbornly continued to stare at it.

"Look, Tony," she started, "we've been searching for answers for a whole month now. And I'm not saying that we should stop looking, but she's still only 13. She can't just stay with us in the Tower for the rest of her life. She needs to be her own person." The billionaire sighed, rubbing his face.

"If we tell her she has to go to school, she'll run away." Pepper held back a smile.

"She's not going to run away."

"I would."

"Tony, I'm being serious. She needs friends and an education." Tony sighed again, tossing his head back onto the couch. He turned to look at his girlfriend with an accusing glare.

"If she runs away, I'm blaming you," he said. Pepper smiled.

"You can blame me," she agreed.

"And I get to take you out tomorrow night," he demanded.

"And you get to take me out tomorrow night." She searched his face. "Anything else?"

"An espresso," he grinned. She stood up, tossing the remote back to him.

"Get it yourself," she said, smiling before walking away. Tony turned around after she left and switched the tv on again, but his mind was wandering. He didn't want to send Adie to school. In this past month, she hadn't left his sight even once. With the powers she had and her past, the billionaire was sure sending her to school would be the worst idea yet. Someone was after her and he wasn't going to send the teenager straight into his hands. Even then, Pepper was right. Adie still was a teenager and she couldn't spend her life in the security of the Tower. She needed to make friends and be her own person. Tony sighed. He knew he was going to regret this.

* * *

"I'm not going to school."

Tony gave Pepper a look. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you are," she said, "You're still just a teenager." Adelaide didn't look convinced.

"But I'm not just a teenager," she said, putting emphasis on 'just a teenager', "You know I'm more complicated than that."

"Yes Adelaide, I do know but it's been a whole month and we haven't even found so much as a clue. I'm not telling you to stop looking, but while we are, you have to go to school. You need an education. You need to make friends your age"

"I don't want to go to school. It's like a prison. A few hundred hormonal teenagers forced to go to leave their room and learn stuff they couldn't care less about? I'm not going." Tony gave his girlfriend a triumphant look. Pepper sighed. She didn't think that forcing a teenager to go to school could be so hard.

At the same time, Adelaide and Pepper both said, "Tony, tell her."

The billionaire looked as if he wanted to teleport out of the room. Pepper glared at Tony and he immediately cleared his throat.

"You're going to school starting Monday," Tony said. Adelaide narrowed her eyes.

"I can't believe you're on her side!" the teenager complained. He shook his head.

"Me neither," he mumbled underneath his breath.

"Tony," Pepper said accusingly. He sighed.

"Sorry kid, but you're going to school. We already registered you." Adelaide groaned loudly. The last place she wanted to be was school. It would confine her into a building for 7 hours of the day 5 days a week. That meant less time to search for answers. Even though she hadn't been able to find any answers in the past month, that didn't mean going to school was going to make it any better. If anything, it would take even longer. After talking with the Avengers, she was certain there was someone after her and going to school would only raise the chances of being caught. She felt safe in the Tower; she didn't want to leave, but she knew Pepper and Tony would be just as stubborn as she was.

"Which school is it?" she asked begrudgingly. Pepper was quick to answer, knowing they were finally getting to the teenager.

"Midtown Middle."

"Where is that?" Adelaide asked, sounded unenthused.

"Queens. Not too far from here. Happy has agreed to take you there everyday."

"It's a school for geniuses," Tony said, failing to sound excited about it. Adelaide sighed. Pepper watched the teenager.

"So you'll go?"

"Do I have a choice?" Pepper pretended to think about it, smiling.

"No," she said, getting up. She ruffled the teenager's brown hair. "You're going to love it."

"No, I'm not," she grumbled under her breath. She glared at Tony, but he just shrugged. She was going to hate school.

* * *

Adelaide studied the raindrops on the car window, as if trying to find answers in them. She sighed, turning away and leaning her head back against the seat.

In this past month, she had gone crazy trying to find out what had happened after that night. Sure, Tony and Pepper had helped, but when the caffeine in their system ran out at 2 in the morning, Adelaide was the one who stayed up and kept searching. There were days when she hadn't slept for longer than a half hour nap in the afternoon to avoid falling asleep in front of the computer again. Whoever was after her, covered his tracks so well, Adelaide wouldn't believe Henry and Ava even existed if it weren't for her memory. After her first memory, she hadn't had another one since.

The lack of answers had made her become frustrated with everything. She was easily angered. There were times when she ended up yelling at Tony just because the internet was slow or her coffee wasn't sweet enough. Although Tony understood, she immediately regretted lashing out. Pepper and Tony both knew she was getting restless, but there was nothing they could to do help it. Deep down, she knew she needed to step back from her mad search for a while. And although she'd never admit it to Tony and Pepper, school was just the perfect distraction.

There was a part of her who just wanted to give up the search all together, but then she saw that gun pressed against her father's head again and then she'd want nothing more than to give that bastard what he deserved. She was going to make him pay for what he did. If only she could find him…

Adelaide sighed again, closing her eyes.

"Aaand we're here," Happy said, making Adelaide look outside. Midtown Middle already looked boring.

Happy turned around, looking more energetic than she had felt in weeks.

"I'll be here to pick you up at 3," he said. Adelaide nodded. He raised an eyebrow. "Don't get in trouble on your first day. Oh, and try not to yell at your teachers."

Adelaide smiled.

"I'll try my best," she said, opening the door and stepping out after grabbing her backpack. Tony had given her an Iron man keychain to put on it and she had made him sign it just for the heck of it. She closed the door behind her and waved goodbye at Happy through the window. She stood there until the car was gone and then turned around after taking a deep breath. She had survived a car accident and a madman when she was five years old, she could survive school.

Taking another deep breath, she hitched her backpack higher up on her shoulder and stepped into the crowd of kids entering the school. Everyone knew where they were going except for her. She was wandering the halls, trying to find her first period class, English. Adelaide wanted to ask someone, but she didn't want anyone to know she was lost. Especially because she was starting in the middle of the year.

"God, I hate going to English with Mrs. Goodall first thing in the morning," she heard someone say. She turned around to find who said that. It was a brown-haired girl wearing sweats and a hoodie. She really looked like she didn't like going to school at all. Adelaide sighed and followed her to English, relieved she wouldn't have to be lost. The class was on the second floor and not too far from the stairs. Walking inside, Adelaide found that the class was already full and there was only one seat left. It was in the back next to…a book? Getting closer, she realized that it was a curly-haired girl with her nose in a book. She didn't even seem to realize that someone had sat next to her.

Good, Adelaide thought, the less attention the better.

Mrs. Goodall was a young-looking, middle-aged woman with short blonde hair and a permanent smile etched onto her face. Adelaide couldn't tell if it was fake or real, but then decided that she didn't care. She didn't even want to be here in the first place. Mrs. Goodall clapped her hands and the chatter quieted down.

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend. We have a new student in our class today," she said, making eye contact with Adelaide. She didn't smile.

"If you would please introduce yourself," she said, her smile beginning to look taunting. Adelaide let out a heavy sigh as she stood up. So much for no attention.

"I'm Adelaide Rivers and I'm new to New York," she said, internally cringing. Why did she make her do this again? She sat down again quickly, avoiding any eye contact. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to snatch the book from the girl next to her and hide behind it. From the corner of her eye, she could see the girl looking at her from above her book. Adelaide looked away, fiddling with her hoodie strings.

"Welcome to the class, Miss Rivers. Now, everyone take out your homework and lay it on your desk. I will come by and pick it up. Make sure your name…" Adelaide tuned her out and looked out the window. It was raining again and JARVIS had told her that it was even supposed to snow later today. It was only February and this was New York, after all. Adelaide could see the curly-haired girl staring at her again and Adelaide bit her tongue and turned away. She tried paying attention to what Mrs. Goodall was saying, but her mind continued to drift. In this past month, she'd had covered all the possible suspects with Tony and Pepper, but everyone they looked into wasn't guilty. It was almost as if someone had left fake trails for them to follow so they would stay busy. It was so goddamn frustrating. Sometimes, she wanted to rip his hair out and make him feel the pain she'd felt.

Adelaide noticed the girl staring at her again. She turned around, deciding to confront her.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" The girl shrugged, unaffected by the question.

"Dunno. Take a guess." Adelaide studied her carefully. She genuinely didn't think the girl was worried she was caught staring. Her attitude just screamed nonchalant. Adelaide decided to go with it. This was more amusing than Mrs. Goodall's lecture about sentence fragments.

"I don't know," she said, "Humor me." The girl's face was void of any emotion.

"You're interesting to look at."

"How so?"

"I don't know. Not anymore," she said, turning her nose back into her book. Adelaide sighed, leaning back in her chair. Mrs. Goodall was handing out their homework for tonight with the permanent smile on her face. This was going to be a long first day.

* * *

It was PE time and it was Peter Parker's least favorite thing in the world. He was always humiliated in that class. And the coaches were ruthless. Parker, run faster. Parker, no resting. Parker, my grandma walks faster than you run. Peter sighed, pushing open the gym doors and walking inside. He went straight to the locker room to change and that's where his best friend Ned Leeds was waiting. He was already dressed and tying his shoes.

"Hey, Ned."

"Oh, hey Peter. I heard Ross is going to make us sprint today." Just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse. This morning, he was called out by two teachers for nodding off in class. It wasn't his fault that the Star Wars special was on late last night. He yawned while opening his locker.

After he had changed, the two of them left the locker room and waited in the gym for Coach Ross. Peter noticed a group of boys making a ruckus on the other side of the gym. Flash Thompson was in the middle of it, being the most popular. Peter didn't like him. He was constantly pestering and humiliating him in front of everyone. Peter didn't know what he'd done to make Flash hate him, but he wanted nothing more than to humiliate him once in front of the school. Although, he'd have to find the courage to stand up to him in the first place.

"Alright everyone, get in line," Coach Ross said after blowing his whistle. Peter and Ned shared a look. They both really hated it when they had to sprint. It never ended well.

"Today, you guys are going to sprint. I see anyone running slow or jogging, they're doing 100 squats. Understood?" he asked, looking directly at Peter. He looked away. He hated gym.

"I don't think Parker heard you, Coach," Flash said, snickering. Peter tried not to glare at him.

"Alright, alright. That's enough, Flash. Whether he heard me or not, we all know Parker's doing a 100 squats today," Ross said, making everyone laugh. Ned nudged him, trying to tell him to stay quiet. Peter could feel his face getting red from anger, but he bit his tongue, knowing that saying anything would just make matters worse. He'd suffered this humiliation since the day he met Flash Thompson, he could survive one more day. He was used to it by now.

They all began running around the gym and he and Ned were at the very back, running as fast as they could.

"Have you heard about the new girl in school?" Ned asked, breathless. Peter shook his head. Ned was seemingly bursting with excitement.

"I heard that she's been expelled from 28 schools and now her parents are forcing her to come here, but, catch this," he said, taking a deep breath, "no one knows why she's been expelled so many times. Some people say it's because…because she has a drinking problem, but I think she pays the teachers to expel her so she…she doesn't have to go," Ned said. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Really?" he asked. Ned shrugged, breathing through his mouth.

"That's…That's what they say. I think it's a genius way to avoid school."

"Why would someone want to get expelled?" Peter asked, still not understanding. Ben and May would kill him if he was expelled.

"I don't know. So they…they wouldn't have to go to school?" He said it like it was obvious. Peter raised an eyebrow. School wasn't the best thing in the world, but he'd never want to get expelled on purpose. He'd be stupid if he did.

"Parker! Move your tiny legs faster!" Ross yelled. Peter groaned and picked up the pace. He was going to be so tired today. It seemed like forever before Ross told them to stop and Peter's legs felt like they were liquid.

"Coach, I think Parker needs to do a 100 squats," Flash said, smirking at Peter. Somehow, he wasn't out of breath.

"You're right, Flash, but class is over. Parker, remind me tomorrow. You're due a 100 squats." Peter nodded reluctantly. He hoped Ross would forget, but he knew that Flash wouldn't. He'd have to do a 100 squats tomorrow whether he wanted to or not.

After the nightmare of PE was over, it was lunchtime. He and Ned sat down together, as far away from Flash as they could.

"…and the new girl has a tattoo behind her ear. It's a gang symbol that she's secretly a part of. And, I heard the gang is really famous in New York. The money she gets from selling the drugs helps her pay off her teachers to expel her," Ned said.

"She has a tattoo? But she's not even 18!" Peter exclaimed. Ned shook his head gravely.

"Exactly. She sounds scary," Ned said. Peter shrugged.

"I think she sounds kinda cool."

"Trust me, Peter, you don't wanna be any part of this. Gangs can be dangerous."

"Will you two stop it already?" Michelle said from the corner. She was sitting at the farthest end of their table, looking as if they had just woken her up. Which, they probably had. "She's not part of a gang and she doesn't have a tattoo. I checked."

"Woah," said Ned in awe, "You know her?" Michelle shrugged. She looked rather annoyed, but answered the question anyway.

"She's in my first period English. She's pretty boring, if you ask me." Peter opened his mouth to ask a question, but Ned started shaking his arm.

"Look! It's her!" The three of them all turned their heads to watch the brown-haired girl walk into the cafeteria. She didn't look intimidating at all. In fact, she looked lost. All the tables were full and she didn't have any place to sit.

"Maybe acting innocent is her disguise," Ned said next to Peter, but Peter was too busy watching her. He'd caught sight of her impossibly blue eyes and he couldn't seem to look away. She was obviously lost, yet she didn't look helpless – she had control of the situation. She scanned the room, momentarily glancing at Peter. In that moment, he couldn't help but feel his heartbeat speed up. He had the sudden urge to go up to her, but then she turned away. He blinked. He had been staring at her for a whole minute now. Peter realized that Ned was talking to him, but he was still watching the girl.

"Peter, did you hear anything I just said?" Ned asked. Peter blinked again, tearing his eyes away.

"Wha – uh, yeah. I heard what you said," he lied. He hadn't even realized his friend was talking.

"Right," Ned said suspiciously, "Anyway, did you see the tattoo behind her ear?" He hadn't been able to look past her eyes.

"Um, no." Ned sighed.

"Yeah, me neither…maybe she covered it up with makeup or maybe…" He tuned Ned out as he watched her turn around. She was coming here, he realized, and she was looking right at him. He tried to act as if he hadn't been watching her for the past two minutes, studying his tray. He waited for her to sit down in front of him, but when she didn't, he looked up, searching the room for her. Ned elbowed him, pointing towards Michelle. She sat down in front of Michelle and poked at the food on her plate. She looked tired, but her blue eyes were constantly darting everywhere, studying everything.

Michelle looked up from her nap, glancing at the girl and then going back to sleeping.

"So you're not going to stare at me again?" she asked Michelle. Michelle shrugged, her head still down.

"Ask them," Michelle said, pointing at him and Ned, "they've been staring at you since you walked in." Peter and Ned shared a panicked look. The girl looked at them curiously, her eyebrows furrowed. Her blue eyes looked even better up close.

Peter nudged Ned, silently telling him to say something.

"No, uh…we weren't, uh…I…Do you really have a tattoo behind your ear?" Ned stuttered. Peter refrained himself from facepalming. That was all he could think of? She was going to think they were weird, just like the rest of the school did.

"A tattoo?" she asked, "Pepp – I mean, my aunt would kill me if I got a tattoo." Peter found himself breathing again. She didn't think they were weird. That was good. Not that he cared too much about what she thought. Ned's happiness deflated.

"So you're not part of a gang? And you don't pay teachers to expel you?" Ned asked. The girl looked baffled.

"Is that what everyone's been saying about me?" Ned shrugged, but then nodded. "They're making me sound way cooler than I actually am."

"Well," Ned said, "I guess you're not that intimidating anymore." She shrugged.

"Sorry to disappoint." Little did they know, she was way cooler than any of the things that Ned said.

"I'm Ned," his friend said, smiling. She gave him a small smile.

"I'm Adelaide," she said, looking at Peter. He realized he hadn't said anything since she had sat here.

"I'm Peter," he said, "By the way, I didn't think that you were part of a gang." Adelaide tilted her head to the side.

"Why not?" He shrugged.

"You don't look like you'd be part of a gang." She nodded.

"Fair enough."

"And besides, I don't – is that a keychain signed by Mr. Stark?!" Peter yelled, noticing the scribble on her red and yellow keychain hanging from her backpack. She looked at it, picking it up in her hand.

"Uh, yeah," she answered.

"Woah! That's so cool! When did you get it signed?!" he asked, dropping all the formalities. This was Mr. Stark they were talking about here. She hesitated, thinking of an excuse.

"I – uh, this morning, actually." He made eye contact with Ned and the two of them jumped up in their seats.

"This morning! You met Mr. Stark this morning?!" This was definitely way, way cooler than being part of a gang.

"Well, no," she answered, "My, uh, uncle got it signed for me."

"Your uncle is friends with Mr. Stark?!" Peter couldn't believe his ears. He knew someone who knew someone who knew Mr. Stark. This was the greatest day of his life.

"No – actually, yes. Yes. Yeah, he's uh, good friends with him."

"No way!" Peter exclaimed, "You know Mr. Stark! That's so freaking cool!" Adelaide shrugged, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Peter's mind was working at a mile a minute.

"Can I get a signed one too? Please, please, pretty" he asked. He had to get a signed Iron Man keychain. At the moment, he wanted nothing more. He realized how desperate he sounded and he cleared his throat, trying to look composed.

"Sure," Adelaide said, making Peter light up with happiness, "I'll tell my uncle today." Peter leaned back in his seat, beaming. This definitely beat being in a gang.

From the corner of his vision, he noticed Flash approaching their table. Oh no, Peter thought, the smile from his face vanishing. He shared a worried look with Ned. Not so surprisingly, Flash was here to talk to Adelaide.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" he asked her. She looked surprised, but shook her head. Peter tried to silently warn her, but she didn't notice.

"I'm Flash, by the way," he said, putting his elbow on the table. He subtly kicked Peter under the table.

"Ow!" he whispered to himself. He had to find a way to get rid of him before he brainwashed Adelaide. Adelaide looked confused that he was talking to her, but she nodded just to be polite. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

"I'm Adelaide," she said.

"So you're new here? I've heard a lot about you," Flash said, continuing to shamelessly flirt. Peter wanted to gag. Maybe he didn't know how to flirt, but at least he didn't do this.

"That I'm part of a gang and I pay teachers to expel me so I don't have to go to school? And you believe it?" she asked. Flash looked taken aback.

"N-No, of course not." She smirked, glancing at Peter. He realized that she was playing along and having fun messing with him.

"Then what did you hear about me, Flash?" A look of panic crossed his face as he tried to come up with something else quickly.

"I heard that you like boys whose name starts with f," he said, looking smug. Peter bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Michelle looked up from her nap, groggy.

"Isn't your name Eugene?" she asked. Flash glared at her, getting angry, but Michelle went back to sleep. Adelaide tried to hold back a laugh, pulling her lips in.

"Eugene?" she asked, "I'm sorry, Flash, but I don't like boys whose names start with f or e."

Flash stood up in anger, shaking the table.

"Fine," he spat, "we'll see how that turns out for you." He glared at Peter. "This is all your fault, Parker," he said. He turned to Adelaide again.

"Trust me," Flash said through gritted teeth, "you don't wanna hang out with these losers." He glared at Peter again before marching away in anger. Adelaide bursted out laughing.

"He really thinks I'd go out with a guy who uses that pickup line? God, I can't believe his ego," she said, her laughter finally dying down. Peter found himself smiling, too. It was the first time that he'd ever smiled after a taunting from Flash and it felt kind of nice.

* * *

After school, Adelaide waited for Happy on the sidewalk, checking her phone every two minutes. Happy had texted her saying he'd be a couple minutes late because of traffic. She wanted to get out of this prison as fast as she could. She noticed Peter walking up to her.

"Hey Peter," she said.

"Hey," he said, coming to stand next to her. She stuffed her hands in her coat pocket, pulling her coat closer. It was starting to get colder as the sun went down.

"I realized that I forgot to say thank you for agreeing to get me the keychain, so, um, thank you," he said. She couldn't tell if his cheeks were turning pink from the cold or he was blushing. She smiled.

"Don't worry about it. My uncle will get you one by tomorrow," she told him. He smiled brightly.

"So are you new to New York?" he asked after a while. Adelaide nodded.

"I moved in with my aunt and uncle about a month ago," she said. Little does he know, she thought. He nodded.

"Cool. I live with my aunt and uncle, too. My house isn't that far from here."

"What about your parents?" she asked. He looked away, the glow on his face disappearing.

"They died in a plane crash when I was little. I've been living with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben ever since."

"Peter, I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Adelaide cursed at herself. She could be so stupid sometimes. Peter was in a great mood after she promised him the keychain and now she ruined it by asking about his parents. She felt terrible.

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving his hand, "I don't remember them too well." Adelaide sighed quietly, looking away. She had reminded him of things he wanted to forget. Way to go.

"I don't remember my parents too well either," she said after a while, staring at her feet, "They died in a…a car accident when I was 5."

"I'm sorry," he said. They silently watched the car pass by them on the streets, their mind wandering. Adelaide wondered what her life would've been like had her parents still been alive. At least she wouldn't be swarming in this confusion. Maybe they'd be living in a small house in Queens and she'd still wind up in Midtown Middle, talking to Peter on the sidewalk today. She wanted her life to be normal, but, instead, it was anything but.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" Peter asked after a while, as if reading her mind. Adelaide assumed he'd been imagining the same thing she had. She looked at him, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, it does," she said. Peter returned her smile, stuffing his hands in his pockets. For a moment, everything quieted down and it was only the two of them. Suddenly, a white dot fell onto Peter's nose. Without realizing it, Adelaide tapped his nose, laughing.

"It's snowing!" she said, making him look up. It was slow, but it was there. He laughed, catching a flake on his tongue. A car honked, pulling the teenagers out of their thoughts. Adelaide turned around, noticing the familiar black car parked by the sidewalk.

"I gotta go," she told him, "See you tomorrow."

"See you." She turned around and opened the back door, letting herself in. Happy pulled back onto the road.

"Hey kid. How was the first day?" Happy asked. She groaned, tossing her head back. She watched the snowfall as they drove.

"I already have homework, I made an enemy, and I need Tony to sign another keychain." Happy glanced at her through the mirror.

"I'm not even gonna ask," he said, making her laugh. If it weren't for Peter, Ned, and maybe even Michelle, her first day would've really sucked. She could count on Flash Thompson to make her second day miserable even if she steered clear of him. Then again, it could've been a worse.

* * *

Adelaide walked into the penthouse, dropping her backpack on the couch. She turned on the tv and walked into the kitchen to get something to eat. In this past month, she had become addicted to dark chocolate even though it wasn't considered real food, according to Pepper. In the living room, the tv channel switched from a reality tv show to depressing news. She popped her head out of the kitchen and realized Tony had changed the channel.

"I was gonna watch that," she said, plopping down next to him with a box of chocolates. He tried to grab a piece, but she flicked his hand away. He frowned, but then shrugged it off.

"So how was school?" he asked.

"Well, I met this guy who saw my keychain and now he thinks that my uncle is good friends with Tony Stark so I promised I'd get him a signed one tomorrow," she said, biting into a chocolate. Tony laughed.

"Poor kid," he said, stealing a chocolate from her. "You're killing him." She frowned, pulling the box away from him.

"It's not like I was gonna tell him that I live with Tony Stark. I don't want that much attention."

"Yeah, right you don't," he scoffed. She smacked his arm. Sometimes, he acted even younger than she did. Adelaide couldn't tell if Pepper had left Tony to babysit her, or her to babysit him. Deep down, she enjoyed their little arguments. They were strangely endearing. She stole the remote from his hand and switched it back to her show. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Don't you have homework to do?" he asked her. She nodded, watching the tv.

"I'll do it later."

"Okay." She glanced at him.

"You're terrible at disciplining."

"I know." She smiled, biting into another , she was definitely babysitting him.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So this chapter is one day late because I had nothing written after the monstrous mess of chapter 6 which I am so glad that it's over. Although, I realized that in my hurry to get it published on time, I didn't realize that I had absolutely no idea what I should do with chapter 7. It was a blank page. There is some original stuff that I have planned before Age of Ultron, but it's still a little ways down the road and for the moment, I had nothing planned. It. Was. A. Nightmare. And I never want to relive it again, but I probably will really soon lol. Anyway, now I have something perfect planned all thanks to my best friend who decided to help my poor soul out of misery. The idea she gave me is really perfect and I can't wait until I get there. In short, I started writing this chapter even though I had no idea where it was going, but, by the end of it, I finally figured it out.**

 **After the super-long and descriptive A/N in the last chapter, I hope we're on the same page now. So right now, it's February 2014 and all the way until March 2015, it's going to be some original stuff. I just realized how much that is and how little I have planned. Yikes. Don't worry about it though, I will work everything out. I hope so. Then March marks the start of Age of Ultron and then things get a lott more heated after that.**

 **Until then, enjoy chapter 7!**

 **Thanks to _beluft96, the-goblet-of-deduction, lizlil,_ and _Fluffymarshmallows_ for following, favoriting, or leaving a review! You guys are seriously the best.**

* * *

 _"I don't like_ _Tony Stark."_

* * *

Adelaide pushed open the cafeteria doors, walking inside. She realized Peter, Ned, and Michelle were already sitting at the table and she walked over there after getting her lunch. She put her tray down on the table, making Peter and Ned look up from whatever they were doing. Michelle was napping again today, sitting against the wall.

"What's that?" she asked. Peter grinned, pushing his glasses up.

"It's the new Star Wars figurines. They just came out yesterday," he said, showing her. They looked like little dolls to her.

"Right, um, anyway, I got the keychain," she said, digging into her backpack. "I actually got one for each of you. I guess Tony was autograph happy yesterday." She quietly laughed to herself, pulling out the keychains. Peter was ecstatic when she handed him the keychain. He was actually holding something that Mr. Stark had touched. And he had signed it. Peter was off the walls. He'd never been more proud of anything. Mr. Stark was his idol, he looked up to him. Peter clipped the keychain with his keys, grinning. He was never taking it off.

"Thanks, Adelaide. Tell your uncle to tell Mr. Stark I said thank you." Adelaide hesitated, dropping her smile. Peter looked genuinely grateful for the keychain; she didn't want to lie to him, it made her feel guilty. She looked into his honest brown eyes. Peter didn't look like he'd tell anyone her secret if she told him, but then again…she shook her head. She wasn't going to tell him. It wasn't safe and she didn't know if she could trust him. After all, she only met him yesterday. She forced a smile.

"Sure."

"This is amazing!" Ned said, clipping the keychain onto his backpack. "Thanks Adelaide! Can you tell thanks to Mr. Stark from me too?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, pulling out another keychain. Peter looked at the keychain.

"Who's that for?" Ned asked as Adelaide stood up.

"Michelle." Hearing her name, the curly-haired girl looked up from her nap. She studied the three of them with narrowed eyes.

"Are you guys talking about me now? I don't have a tattoo behind my ear," she said. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"No, I was saying that this is for you. My uncle got it signed yesterday," she told her. Michelle took it from her hand, inspecting it like it was broken.

"I don't like Tony Stark." Peter felt his mouth falling open. How did someone dislike Mr. Stark? There…There was nothing to dislike! "You can keep it," Michelle said, going back to napping. Adelaide shrugged, putting it in her pocket. She sat back down in front of Peter and Ned who were both staring at Michelle with their mouths hanging open. Adelaide snapped her fingers in front of them, and they blinked out of it.

"How can she _not like Mr. Stark_?" Peter asked, still processing the information. Adelaide tried not to laugh.

"I mean," she started, "there's a lot of things to not like. For one, he's so cocky." Peter looked offended.

"No he's not! He's just very…"

"Cocky?"

"No! He's just comfortable around people, that's all." Adelaide sat back, rolling her eyes. Tony was cocky and there was no question about it. Just the other day, she heard him complimenting himself in his lab. Peter sighed.

"Anyway," he said, "tell your uncle I said thank you, too." Adelaide nodded, feeling the guilt again. She pushed it away. She shouldn't trust him just yet.

"Hey," Ned said, looking up from the keychain, "how does your uncle know Iron Man anyways?" Adelaide's brain rushed to think of an excuse.

"He…um, he's a business partner. You know, they work together and stuff."

"Who is your uncle?" Peter asked. Maybe he'd heard of him before on the news or something. Adelaide groaned internally. All this lying was proving to be difficult and a big headache.

"Um, he's...Timothy…Lark. Yeah, Timothy Lark," she lied. Peter had never heard that name before. Maybe he was new to the business, he thought.

"Yeah, they've been friends for a long time," Adelaide added. She was just rambling now, trying to cover her first lie. But Peter grew more confused. Surely, if they've been friends for a long time, he would've seen him somewhere. He never missed anything related to Mr. Stark. Peter studied Adelaide and he caught sight of her blue eyes again. Maybe Timothy Lark had been on the news, but it had just slipped past his attention.

"Cool," Ned said, pulling Peter out of his thoughts, "Tell him I said thank you, too." Adelaide nodded, feeling relieved. They bought her lies. Suddenly, the bell rang, meaning it was time to head to class. The three teenagers dumped their trays into the trash and left the cafeteria together. As they were walking past the lockers, Flash Thompson appeared in front of them, a knowing smirk on his face.

"Hey Parker, have you told Adelaide about how you couldn't do more than 20 squats in gym today? Or were you too embarrassed?" Peter felt his face flaming red. He wanted to tell Flash it was because his friends had been sitting on him. He'd gotten enough humiliation during gym, he didn't want to relive it again. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Are you always this basic with your insults, or are you saving the best ones for later?" Adelaide asked. Maybe Flash wasn't bullying her, but he was still being annoying. Flash didn't look surprised at Adelaide's retort. After yesterday, he had figured out that she didn't like him very much yet, but he was going to change that.

"Aw, would you look at that. Parker's got a girlfriend," he sang, "I don't know why'd she'd go out with a loser like you." Adelaide felt her hand turning into her fist. This guy had no boundaries.

"Hey Eugene Thompson," she said in a demanding voice, "I'm the one who insulted you. Don't pretend like I'm not here." Flash grinned, finally looking at her.

"What? Do you want me to insult you for hanging out with these losers? Because, let's face it, they're starting to rub off on you. I say you should come over with me. At least I can do a 100 squats. And don't call me Eugene."

"Do you base your friends on how many squats they can do?" She wasn't even trying to insult him anymore; she just couldn't understand that people like Flash Thompson existed.

"If that means I don't have to be friends with a freak like Parker, then yeah, I do." Peter gritted his teeth.

"Good, I don't want to be friends with a jackass like you anyway," he found himself saying. Flash laughed.

"It talks," he joked, "Hey, Coach, did you catch that?" Adelaide turned around. They realized Coach Ross was standing behind them, looking very angry. Peter swallowed. Uh-oh, he thought.

"Parker. Detention for using foul language," he said, "And I want all of you to get your butts to class. Right now!" Flash winked at Adelaide and then pushed past Peter to get to class. Peter sighed and began walking to Algebra. For a moment, Adelaide just stood there, watching Peter walk away dejectedly. Everything that just happened, it was wrong. Ned and Adelaide walked behind him, keeping their distance even though they were all heading towards the same class.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Adelaide asked Ned quietly. Ned shrugged.

"This happens every day. I think Peter's kinda used to it by now." That was rough. With a kid like Flash Thompson there to point out his every flaw, Peter was bound to break sometime. And, yet, he still came to school every day. If it was up to Adelaide, she'd just switch schools to avoid the headache. She walked faster, catching up to him.

"Hey, Peter, don't take anything Flash said seriously. He's immature. He doesn't know what he's saying." Peter didn't look up from the floor.

"Thanks, but I still have detention and he doesn't." Adelaide tried to find an argument, but he was annoyingly right. She sighed. She was terrible at cheering people up. Adelaide looked at Ned, silently telling him to say something. Ned cleared his throat.

"We're still up for the movie marathon tonight, right?" he asked Peter. They were by the class doors now, walking inside. Peter nodded.

"Yeah. 7 o'clock, right?" Ned nodded, smiling. He gave Adelaide a thumbs up and the three of them sat down towards the back of Mr. Stevenson's class. Adelaide tried not to groan. Math was her worst subject and she hated it. She'd rather be sitting in science class, making chemical reactions. The teacher walked into the classroom and everyone quieted down. Mr. Stevenson was a strict sort of teacher. He had a beard kind of like Tony's but it was a lot thicker and he always wore a shirt and tie with his hair neatly combed away from his face. He wore circular glasses that did nothing to lessen the intensity of his glare when he was angry. As long as you stayed disciplined in his class, there would be no problems. Adelaide wondered what he did to students who hated doing math.

"Alright class, please take out your notebooks and turn to page 134. Today's lesson: parabolas," he said, making Adelaide internally groan. She slumped back in her seat. As Mr. Stevenson began talking, Adelaide couldn't help but tune him out after half a minute, staring out the window. It was snowing again. Adelaide lost track of how long she had been watching the snowfall until Peter suddenly tapped her shoulder. She blinked, looking away and coming face to face with Peter's worried look. She raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Adelaide Rivers," Mr. Stevenson said sternly, making her turn around, "I asked you a question." His glare was almost deadly and Adelaide frantically tried to read the board, trying to find the question he must have asked her.

"The vertex," Peter whispered from behind her.

"The vertex," she answered confidently. Mr. Stevenson studied her for a second before turning away.

"I'd appreciate it if you would maybe look at the board instead of out the window during my class," he said, making the class snicker. Adelaide rolled her eyes, turning around.

"Thanks Peter," she said. Peter tried to hide his blush, pushing up his glasses. Why was he blushing again? He cleared his throat, shaking himself out of it.

"No problem," he answered with a smile.

"No talking, Miss Rivers," Mr. Stevenson said, his back to them. Adelaide groaned quietly. This guy was starting to get on her nerves. It was only her second day. After about 13 more of those instances where Peter had to give her the answer, it was time to go. As she was gathering her stuff (which wasn't much because she hadn't even bothered to pull out her notebook, well knowing it would be useless), Mr. Stevenson made a dreadful announcement.

"Don't forget, this Friday there will be a test over everything we learned in these past two weeks. That includes today's lesson on parabolas," he said, looking directly at Adelaide. She glared back. She knew she was terrible at math and she didn't want to pay attention to learn it, but that didn't mean he had to rub it into her face. As she hitched her backpack onto her shoulder, she noticed Peter approaching her with a nervous look on his face. She waited for him to say something, but his eyes were darting everywhere to avoid her gaze.

"What?" she asked. He pushed his glasses up, clearing his throat. Adelaide glanced at Ned with a questioning look, but he merely shrugged in reply.

"I uh…well, you know, you just started school yesterday and you kind of missed everything he taught last week so I was thinking that maybe I could kinda help you out before the test this Friday…Only if you want, of course. If you don't want, then that's fine too. I don't want to bother you, but I was just wondering –"

"It's because you think I suck at math, isn't it?" Peter looked like a deer caught in headlights, confirming her suspicion.

"What? No! Of course not! I never said that," he stuttered. Peter glanced at Ned who was giving him a signal to stop talking. He shut his mouth quickly. Adelaide crossed her arms, raising a scrutinizing eyebrow. Peter pushed his glasses up again and she noticed her were broken from the middle, barely hanging together with duct tape.

"But you thought it," she said, feeling the anger in her chest rising. Yes, she was bad at math. Yes, she was the worst person at math ever. Why did everyone have to rub it in? At her retort, Peter stayed silent, looking away. Adelaide sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm fine with math by myself. I don't need your help," she said before turning on her heel and storming away in a flurry of anger. She felt embarrassed. She didn't need help. She could figure everything out by herself. And who was Peter to decide that she needed help anyway? She'd do fine on the test this Friday without him.

* * *

Adelaide marched into the penthouse, some of her anger still left over. She tossed her backpack by the door and stormed into the kitchen to get some of her chocolates. Adelaide searched the whole fridge, but there were no chocolates at all. She slammed the fridge close, ready to yell at Tony, only to find that he was standing right there. She crossed her arms.

"Where are my chocolates?" she asked accusingly. Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Angry, are we?" Adelaide tapped her foot impatiently. She didn't time for his childish tactics. She had to become an expert at math by this Friday and she needed her chocolates.

"Chocolates," she demanded. Tony put his hands up in the air, as if he were surrendering.

"You caught me. I accidentally finished the whole box. Sorry," he said nonchalantly. This did not help her anger.

"My name was on the box!" Tony thought about it.

"Now that you mention it, there was some kind of illegible scribble on the lid. I must not have realized it was your name," he said, shrugging. Adelaide groaned. This day was proving to just get worse.

"What am I supposed to eat now?" Tony inspected the fruit basket exaggeratedly, dramatically walking over to it

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't fruit healthier than chocolate?" She tossed an apple at him and he caught it just in time.

"You can eat an apple. I want chocolate." She turned around, sighing and pulling at her hair. She couldn't believe that Peter thought she actually needed help at math. Was she really that bad? No, she shook her head. She just wasn't paying attention in class and that's why he had to answer the questions for her. She could do math if she wanted to. She just chose not to because she didn't like it. That was it.

"So I'm gonna assume the second day of school didn't go so well," Tony said. She glared at him.

"Oh so you noticed?" she asked sarcastically. She leaned against the fridge with her arms crossed across her chest. He bit into the apple, taking his time to answer.

"Yeah, I did. What happened? Did your friends not like my autograph?" Adelaide sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, one of them doesn't like you and she told me to keep the keychain." Tony laughed, not bothered at all.

"I like her. What about my biggest fan?"

"He was over the moon about it. Told me to tell my uncle and Mr. Stark thank you." Tony leaned against the island.

"Then what's your problem?" Adelaide sighed.

"Everyone thinks I'm terrible at math. Your biggest fan? Well he thinks he's some kind of genius. He asked me if I needed help with math. I'm not that terrible at it!" Tony cleared his throat awkwardly. He bit into the apple again to delay the answer.

"Well, I definitely think you could use some practice…"

"Not you too!" she groaned.

"Look, all I'm saying is that a little practice never hurt anyone."

"I have a math test this Friday and I know next to nothing," she said. Adelaide felt as if she was being attacked. She wasn't terrible at everything. Just math. Yet, for some reason, she felt as if she wasn't good at math, then she'd be considered incompetent in every subject even if she was an expert.

"I have an idea," he said, "Why don't you go practice?" Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do know anything besides sarcasm?" The billionaire pretended to think about.

"Nope. Go practice." Adelaide rolled her eyes and grabbed her backpack from the floor before going into her room. She slammed the door behind her. She was going to prove Peter Parker wrong; she was going to make a better score than him this Friday.

* * *

"I'm afraid Miss Rivers that you cannot retake this test. You only had one chance," Mr. Stevenson said, breaking the news to her.

"And you're telling me this now?"

"How does it make a difference?" he asked. Adelaide mumbled something under her breath, snatching her test back from him and marching over to her seat. She couldn't believe this. She had studied every day since Tuesday. Granted, she didn't pay attention in class, but at least she studied. Then how in the world did she make a 76 on this test? Now her score in this class was a D. Adelaide sat at her desk, sulking. She knew there was a good reason she hated math. She could hear Peter and Ned talking about their test behind her.

"What'd you make, Peter?" she heard Ned ask. She could see Peter pushing his glasses up even without turning around.

"I got a 110, but only because I did the bonus question." A 110? Adelaide couldn't even imagine making that high of a score on any math test ever.

"What about you?" Peter asked Ned.

"I didn't have enough time to do the bonus so I only got a 100." Adelaide felt her eyes go wide. _Only_ a 100? They were unbelievable.

"What did you make, Adelaide?" She turned around, still sulking. Ever since Peter had offered to help her with math, her pride had been deeply hurt. She was better than that. She didn't like taking help from people with things she knew she was very well capable of doing on her own. Adelaide sighed. But this time, she knew she'd have to accept help or else she was never going to pass this class. She tossed the paper onto Peter's desk and watched his eyes go wide at the score. Adelaide bet he had never seen that number written on any of his tests.

"You were right," she said begrudgingly, "I do need your help so…can you help me?" Peter looked up from the test.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he answered. Peter couldn't seem to believe that this blue-eyed girl was actually asking for his help after she'd yelled at him the first time he offered.

"Tomorrow after school, at your house?"

"Uh, sure…yeah." Adelaide sat back in her chair, looking at her test. She absentmindedly traced the number with her finger tip, silently changing it to a 100. She sighed, dropping the illusion and letting it change back. She hoped she'd made the right decision by agreeing to let Peter help.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This chapter is one day late again and my only excuse is that I needed more time to edit it. But I honestly found that having two days to work on it and then posting it on the third day leads to less problems for me so I guess I'm going to start doing that now...Anyway, I wrote this chapter with a smile on my face - an evil one and a nice one.** **We get to see two characters that we haven't heard from in a while and I love writing them because it's so mysterious and funny at the same time lol. There's more Pepper mom, there's a lot more of Peter and Adie, and two new characters whom I love to death. You'll know them when you see them. ;)**

 **So tomorrow I have like a million doctor's appointments (don't worry, there's nothing wrong with me) and one of them is the eye doctor so my eyes will get dilated and I probably won't be able to write anything for a while. I have started the next chapter, but there's still a lot more left in it so I don't know I guess I'll just work around that.**

 **So remember how I said my friend helped me out with the next plot point? Well, all the things in this chapter and the next few chapters are really just there to set up that plot point which I cannot wait for! I'm so hyped to write about it and it's literally the most perfect idea. It'll be unexpected, is all I will say...**

 ** _Fluffymarshmallows:_ _To answer your question, Pepper will definitely be in this story more along with Tony. I'm glad you like her as her mom role in Adie's life! I plan on making their relationship stronger soon and you get to see a little bit of her in this chapter. I love them together and I can promise there will be more of her around!_**

 ** _lizlil:_ _I'm glad you liked the chapter so much! I totally agree with you and I love seeing Tony as her father figure as well - there will definitely be more of that in this story. Well, as fatherly as Tony Stark can act, of course lol. And about Adie and Nat, I think that's a great suggestion. They definitely have some kind of connection, but I was thinking that they really just bond over fighting the bad guys lol. So after Age of Ultron, they'll be closer and Nat will become like an Aunt, but she'll be more of a friend to Adie. So Adie will have Uncle Bruce and Aunt Natasha lol._**

 **Onwards, to chapter 8!**

* * *

 _"He's a huge fan of_ _Tony_

 _and I honestly_

 _can't figure out why."_

* * *

Adelaide found Pepper in her room, standing by the overly large windows and talking on the phone. She noticed Adelaide walking in and held up a finger, silently telling her to wait. Adelaide sat down at her desk, slowly spinning back and forth in the chair. She picked up a pen from the desk, examining it. This pen looked as expensive as the desk it was on. Was there anything in this penthouse that didn't have a price consisting of at least triple digits?

"No, I can't understand, Harvey," Pepper yelled into the phone. Adelaide winced. She did not want to be Harvey at the moment, whoever he was.

"I don't care – you know what? We'll discuss this at the meeting tomorrow. Don't do anything until I'm there." She hit the end button, hanging up without even waiting to hear his response. Poor guy, Adelaide thought. Pepper turned around and sat in front of her.

"Sorry," she said, sighing, "Is this about your math test? Because I already saw the score, so don't bother lying about it." She didn't sound angry or upset, but Adelaide knew she'd find out about it sooner or later even if Adelaide had tried to change the score with her abilities. Nothing got past Pepper.

"Right," Adelaide said, "It is about that. My friend says he's going to help me this afternoon so I'm going to his house." Pepper frowned.

"He? And your letting him help? Hm, I wonder how that happened," Pepper said with a knowing smile. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"He's not my type. Anyway, he offered to help and I already talked to Happy and he's agreed to drop me there and pick me up." Pepper opened her mouth, but Adelaide beat her to it.

"He lives in Queens with his aunt and uncle, and, no, he doesn't know anything about my powers. He's not suspicious, he's not a bad guy, and – what else do you need to know?" Adelaide had listed off all the things that would make Pepper say no and she couldn't think of a reason she wouldn't be allowed to go. Pepper smiled, leaning forward.

"Do I get to know his name?"

"Oh yeah, Peter Parker. He's a huge fan of Tony and I honestly can't figure out why." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You can go." Adelaide stood up, grinning.

"Thanks, Pep," she said, turning around to leave.

"Don't call me that," she told the teenager.

"Bye Pep!" Adelaide shouted as she closed the door behind her. She could almost see her frowning and shaking her head, bringing a smile to the teenager's face.

* * *

"Is it this one?" Happy asked, peering out the car window. Adelaide checked the address on her phone that she had asked Peter to send her yesterday. She put her phone away, turning it off.

"That's the one. Thanks Happs," she said, grabbing her backpack and opening the door.

"Don't call me that," he said, frowning. Adelaide threw him a smile over her shoulder as she closed the door behind herself. He lowered the window, glaring at her.

"I'm serious, Adelaide." Adelaide grinned teasingly, waving.

"Bye Happs!" she said and quickly ran away before he could say anything in response. What was it with the nicknames today? Whatever it was, Adelaide was having fun making everyone angry at her.

After walking past a few more houses, Adelaide stopped at the one from the address. The Parker residence looked nice. There were stairs leading up to the door, a chimney on the roof, a shoveled path. Adelaide briefly wondered if this was the kind of house she'd be living in with her parents had they not died. Maybe they'd have a big green lawn that she'd play in or a tree in their backyard that she'd ask her dad to make a treehouse on for her. And when it snowed, she would make a snowman with her parents. Maybe they'd have a snowball fight, then go inside and watch movies cuddled up on the sofa together with hot chocolate. But it wasn't like that and they weren't alive. Instead, they had been murdered in front of her young eyes and now she could barely remember what they were like. She forced herself to stop thinking about that. What's gone was gone. They weren't coming back.

She pulled her coat tighter and rang the bell, wrapping her arms around herself. Even though the sun was shining, she couldn't even feel a shred of warmth from it. She was shivering even inside her thick coat.

To the teenager's surprise, a red-headed woman opened the door, a warm smile on her face. Adelaide suddenly remembered that Peter didn't live with his parents either and this was probably Aunt May. Adelaide found herself smiling back.

"Hi Mrs. Parker, is Peter home?" Aunt May stepped back, allowing Adelaide to walk inside. She was hit with the surprisingly warm air. Much better than the cold.

"Hi," she said, "Peter's in his room and, please, call me May." May closed the door behind Adelaide.

"I'm assuming you're Adelaide. Peter told me you'd be coming," she said. There were loud footsteps from the stairs and then Peter's face popped up. His hair was obviously disheveled, as if he had just woken up from a nap, his glasses were crooked on his face, and he looked somehow surprised to see Adelaide standing in his home. It hadn't really registered in Peter's mind that this blue-eyed girl was serious about the math help so he'd taken a nap, just having woken up from the noise of the door opening. He hadn't even fixed his hair. Peter adjusted his glasses, pushing them up. Aunt May smiled at him.

"You know, Peter, doing math homework might require you to actually be awake," she teased light-heartedly. Peter cleared his throat.

"Sorry May, I didn't realize I fell asleep," the teenager said. Suddenly, Uncle Ben walked into the room, a bright smile on his face. For some reason she couldn't put her finger on, Adelaide took an immediate liking to Uncle Ben. He seemed so open and good-hearted.

"Well, hello. You must be Adelaide," he said, extending his hand. Adelaide shook it.

"Yeah, I am. And you must be Uncle Ben," she said. Adelaide realized she was smiling again. This might be the most she's smiled all week.

"Peter told me you're new here. If you want, Pete and I can show around Queens sometime," he said. Surprisingly, Adelaide found herself thinking that was a great idea. Maybe it was the way Ben had offered; she just couldn't refuse.

"Sounds great, Uncle Ben, but we have to go do math right now, remember?" Peter said, interrupting. Adelaide thought he was being rude.

"Sure," she told Ben, ignoring Peter, "I think that's a great idea." Uncle Ben smiled.

"Well, you two kiddos go do your homework now," he said. Adelaide smiled politely and followed Peter up the stairs. She decided that she liked Ben and May. They were a homey kind of nice. Adelaide felt comfortable around them; any blind person could see that they were both genuinely good people. There weren't many of those left in this world, sadly. Adelaide realized that even she couldn't say for herself that she was a genuinely good person. There were 13 years of her life that she couldn't remember and strange abilities she didn't know the origin of. She wasn't sure of herself, what she'd done in those 13 years. She didn't even know herself.

"You can put your backpack there," Peter said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She had been standing in the doorway, staring at the wall. Stop it, she told herself, you're going to creep him out. Adelaide put her black backpack next to Peter's red one and sat down in one of the spinning chairs, studying the room. It was actually pretty neat for a 13 year old boy's room. There was a bunk bed in the corner, a desk, a few posters on the wall, nothing outrageous. It was kind of cozy.

"So do we have to do math?" she asked, her back turned to him. She was inspecting the stuff on his desk now. He had a picture of himself with Ben and May during Christmas; they were posing in front of their tree. Peter looked about 7 years old.

"But that's why you came here," the boy replied, incredulous. This girl was unbelievable. He'd never met anyone who hated math this much. Peter heard a long, deep sigh come from the chair.

"Yeah, you're right. It's just that I…"

"Hate math. I know," he said, "But you're going to have to bring up your grade in the class sometime."

So the two teenagers both worked on their math homework, Peter helping Adelaide along the way. Sometime during their studying, Aunt May came in and gave them cookies which Adelaide finished all by herself, giving Peter only one or two. He didn't seem to mind, though. He was admittedly having fun – well as much fun as someone could have doing Algebra. He learned that Adelaide was much worse at math than he thought, though, he, of course, didn't say this out loud. And despite having to help her with every single problem, he had a feeling she was starting to catch on. Outside, a fiery blizzard began, but the two were oblivious to it, too invested in their work. The snow began to pile up in heaps and downstairs, as Ben and May watched the weather, the weatherwoman reported that the storm wasn't going to die down anytime soon and winds were suspected to only get stronger. There was a warning that several roads may be closed until the storm died down, and at the Stark Tower, Pepper was worrying about Adelaide. She hoped the teenager was safe, but she decided to call her just in case.

The teenager picked up in a heartbeat, needing an excuse to stop doing her homework.

"Hey Pep, what's up?" Pepper was too worried to get angry at the teenager for using that horrible nickname again.

 _"_ _Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."_ Adelaide scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? It's not like Peter's going to kidnap me, right Peter?" The teenager asked. Peter rolled his eyes in response. Adelaide heard Pepper sighing.

 _"_ _Adelaide, have you looked outside?"_ the woman asked. Adelaide glanced at Peter and then stood up, walking over to the window. Woah. It was a full blizzard. Everything was so white, she couldn't even see the Parker's mailbox 7 feet away. Adelaide suspected it was buried in the snow. As far as she could see in every direction, it was white. There must be at least 3 feet of snow on the ground. They wouldn't even be able to open the door without all of it piling into their house. Adelaide glanced at the clock. Despite the brightness outside, it was already 8 o'clock. She was supposed to be back at the Tower by now. Pepper took Adelaide's silence as an indication that she was looking outside.

 _"_ _All the roads are blocked and the storm isn't going to stop for a few hours now. There's no way they'd have the road paved in time for Happy to get there,"_ Pepper said. She had been thinking about this problem for an hour now and she still had no solution. How was she supposed to get Adelaide back to the Tower? Adelaide chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. Tony couldn't even send one of his Iron Man suits because the winds were too strong. There was no way to leave. Unless…

"What if I stayed here for the night?" Adelaide was surprised at her own suggestion. She hadn't been able to feel safe anywhere except the Tower. Peter looked up from his work at the question. He'd doubted that she would even come to his house in the first place and now she wanted to spend the night? He realized that there was no other option and it was too dangerous for her to leave right now in the storm. Adelaide turned around from the window.

"Is that okay? If I stay the night, I mean." Peter found himself nodding and Adelaide faced the window again.

"He said I can. Plus, his aunt and uncle are here too…I'll be fine, I promise," Peter heard her say into the phone. He had assumed she was talking to her aunt. "Thanks Pep, bye."

Adelaide turned around again, putting her phone in her pocket.

"Are you sure it's okay with your aunt and uncle?" she asked, walking back to her seat. She grabbed the pen off the desk and began fiddling with it again.

"Yeah, they don't mind." She smiled.

"Great. Thanks Pete." Pete? Where had that come from? It was too late to take it back now. She knew there was something with the nicknames today. "You know, Pete sounds a lot better than Peter," she added. He just shrugged.

"Ben's the only one who calls me that." Just then, Aunt May knocked on the open door, making the two teenagers turn away from the conversation.

"Hey you two," she said, "How's the studying going?"

"As good as anything with parabolas can be," Adelaide mumbled. May chuckled.

"Ada's going to stay here for the night," Peter said, a knowing smile underlying his impassive expression. Adelaide gave him a look which he decided to ignore for the moment being. "Because of the blizzard."

May nodded understandingly.

"Of course. I was just about to ask you about that. It's way too dangerous out there right now and with all the roads blocked, it would be better if you spent the night here." Adelaide smiled gratefully.

"Thank you. I'll leave tomorrow as soon as the roads are opened," she said. May smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get you something of mine for the night. It'll be a little big, but I'm sure you'll be fine," she said, leaving to get the clothes. As soon as she left, Adelaide swiveled around in her chair, a questioning look on her face to which Peter merely smiled to in reply.

"Ada?" she asked him. Really, it wasn't that terrible of a nickname. Peter shrugged, picking up his pencil.

"It suits you. And you know, Ada is a lot easier to say than Adelaide." She shook her head and tossed an eraser cap at his head, making him laugh. In the midst of their laughter, he caught sight of her brilliant blue eyes again.

This girl was a mystery Peter had yet to solve.

Later that night, the two teenagers slept on the bunk bed, Adelaide on the top and Peter on the bottom. Their work laid scattered across Peter's desk and neither of them had had enough energy to fix it. All that math had been draining. It was 3 hours after Pepper's phone call, and the wind was still howling just as fiercely outside, showing no sign of stopping. In the dark, Adelaide struggled to fall asleep, mindlessly tracing her finger over the scar on her arm as a method of comfort. She hated being in complete darkness; she needed some kind of light in the room. It helped her feel safe. At the Tower, she always slept with the table lamp on. She couldn't fall asleep without it.

"Peter?" she asked quietly, staring at the ceiling above her. At first there was no answer. Then, the sound of Peter moving in his bed.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice groggy.

"Sorry," she said, "Never mind." She could hear Peter yawning and turning in his bed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, still sounding sleepy.

"Can you turn on the lamp?" she asked quietly, holding her breath. Wordlessly, Peter got out of bed and switched on the lamp next to his desk and then crawled back under his blanket. Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief.

"Better?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"Yeah. Thanks," she whispered in the silence. For once in New York, there were no car horns outside, no one was yelling, everybody was in their house – the city was finally asleep. It was peaceful. The calm during the storm.

"No problem," he mumbled, "Goodnight, Ada."

Adelaide closed her eyes, a small smile on her face.

"Goodnight, Pete."

* * *

From the house across from the Parker residence, a certain man with an eyepatch was watching the teenager sleep. He didn't need a window or binoculars; his ability allowed him to see through almost anything. These thin walls stood no chance against him. He'd been watching the girl ever since she left the Tower, following at a nonsuspicious distance. He found it amusing. The very same girl who actually stood a chance against him in a brawl, was worrying about her math homework. Oh, the irony of it. He grinned to himself. If she only knew the truth of it all. She'd probably laugh at herself, then give him a black eye for laughing at her. He clearly remembered how much she despised him. He was the only person she wished dead.

Instead, Rivers was sharing a bunk bed with a puny boy, worrying about her math. He watched in disgust. All that power. Wasted on something useless. Hell, Lukov could've sent him and he could've done the job. Even better than her, he'd like to think. In the silence, the ringing of his phone startled Graves. He fished it out of his coat pocket before it drew any attention to him.

"What did I say about calling me?" he hissed into the phone. He didn't care that the man on the other side could destroy him in a heartbeat. It was hard to keep an eye on the girl when he kept calling and blowing his cover. He was just lucky no one had seen him.

 _"_ _Quit crying, Graves."_

"What do you want?" he asked, tired of being tortured with questions. It was a bit annoying, really.

 _"_ _A whiskey. A couple trillion dollars. Which one will you get for me? Oh, that's right. You're useless."_ Graves gritted his teeth in anger and pulled his hand into a fist. He was crossing the line.

"You asked me to watch the girl. I'm watching the girl. So let me do my job," he growled. He knew he was entertaining the old man with his anger, but that was Graves' weakness. He always let his anger control his actions, to hell with the consequences.

 _"_ _You know, I find that funny, because the other half of your job was to report back to me and I haven't heard from you in two weeks."_

"There isn't anything to report. She's with this boy and –"

 _"_ _There's a boy?"_ Graves sighed.

"Lukov, she's a teenager. Of course there's a boy."

 _"_ _Give me something useful."_

"She started school this week."

 _"_ _Now do you see what I mean by useless? She started school this week, and I'm just now hearing about it. I should've sent someone else."_ Graves wanted to knocked the man's teeth out through the phone. He was getting on his last nerve.

"No one knows her better than me." Graves felt the coldness even through the phone. It chilled him to his spine as he waited for his reply.

 _"_ _Wrong,"_ he whispered, his voice full of the deadliest venom, _"I do."_ Graves swallowed, wanting to take his words back. Lukov was touchy about a lot of things, but Rivers was number one on that list. He loved her more than anything. Not the fatherly kind of love, but the kind of love an insane man has with his biggest weapon. An addiction.

 _"_ _Do better."_ Graves was met with the shrill sound of the phone call ending and he angrily stuffed his phone back into his coat. Lukov's last comment echoed in his mind, forming into a brilliant idea. Piece by piece he put together his plan, occasionally watching Rivers through the wall. Once, she had climbed out of bed and sat at the desk. Graves chuckled to himself quietly. She was doing math. How nice.

He was going to keep a closer eye on her and he had the perfect way to do it.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm honestly surprised I got this chapter out on time because I wrote all of it today lol. I had some written, but I didn't like it and I wanted to change it but then I got my eyes dilated so my vision was useless so there's another day without writing and yesterday I honestly don't know butt I think I just wasn't in the mood to write. So I wrote most of it today and proofread it like five minutes ago.**

 **In the last chapter, I was looking over it earlier and I found that there was a mistake with one of the dialogues at the end where Graves says she started school this week and then Lukov said last week. I didn't realize it then. Anyway, I found it and fixed it.**

 **So in this chapter, Graves makes another appearance (btw, Graves is his last name) and I finally get to start on the Big Thing that I'm planning and this chapter is the first real 'build up' to it. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how I want to tie in all the Spider-Man stories with my version of Peter and let me tell you, it's a real pain in the ass. It's so hard picking just one villain. It's still a little ways down the road and we have a lot of Adie problems to deal with until then.**

 **Now, chapter 9!**

* * *

 _"What, do you love math now or something?"_

* * *

It was just another normal Sunday morning for Ned Leeds as he left the Whole Foods Market with his mother. They were short on milk, his mother had reminded him this morning after breakfast. The blizzard had died down while they were asleep and some of the roads were paved by the time the Leeds family had woken up. As Ned and his mother turned the corner to find a cab, the teenager realized that he was standing across the street from the Stark Tower. Woah, he thought, Mr. Stark really lives here. For all he knew, Tony Stark was in there right now, maybe working on his Iron Man suit. Ned remembered the keychain that Adelaide had given him. He wondered if Adelaide's uncle had told Mr. Stark about him. He doubted it, but it was still pretty cool to think about.

"Ned, would you please call a cab for us? I've got to get this; it's urgent," his mother said, gesturing to her ringing phone.

"Sure," he answered as she turned away to take the call. Ned was about to stick his hand out to stop one of the yellow cars, when something caught his attention across the street. It was a normal black car, but that wasn't what Ned found shocking. It was the person that stepped out of it. The teenager took a step back in dismay. With big, curious eyes Ned Leeds watched his friend Adelaide Rivers step out of the black car with Happy Hogan and get warmly greeted by none other than the famous Tony Freaking Stark. His jaw dropped. He couldn't believe his eyes. His friend. His friend! With Tony Stark!

"Adelaide!" he shouted, waving. He realized he was grinning maniacally, but he couldn't care less – his friend was with Tony Stark! With all the traffic and street noise, Adelaide didn't hear her friend calling her name across the street. Ned watched in fascination as Mr. Stark patted his friends shoulder who lightly hit his arm in return. Adelaide laughed at something Happy said and then Pepper Potts emerged from the glass doors, a huge smile on her face. Ned took in the whole scene with his mouth agape. This was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him. Then, the four of them walked through the double doors and into the Stark Tower. For a second, Adelaide looked over her shoulder, scanning the area, but, once again, she didn't see her friend waving at her. Laughing at something, Adelaide turned around and followed the others into the Tower.

Ned realized he was out of breath. He still couldn't believe his eyes. He just saw his friend go inside the Stark tower with Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, and Tony Stark himself. The teenager realized how little he knew about his friend. Suddenly, he remembered that her uncle was friends with Tony Stark. Wow, she is so lucky, he thought.

"Is everything all right?" his mother asked him. He hadn't realized that she was already finished with her phone call. In the midst of the event across the street, Ned had forgotten to call a cab like his mother had asked him to do. He still had a huge grin on his face.

After they stopped a cab, Ned retold everything that he had seen in detail to his mother all the way until they got home. He was buzzing with excitement the whole ride.

Ned couldn't wait until he met Adelaide tomorrow.

* * *

Monday afternoon, as Adelaide entered the lunchroom, she noticed that Ned was sitting by himself at their lunch table and Michelle and Peter weren't there yet. Well, knowing Michelle, she probably skipped lunch and went to the library so it wasn't much of a surprise. Adelaide sat down in front of Ned with her lunch tray, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Where's Peter?" For some reason, Ned look happier than usual. Weird, Adelaide thought. His best friend was missing and he was here eating happily. Ned shrugged, his mouth full.

"He probably stayed behind with Mr. Simons in chemistry or something. I don't know. Anyway –"

"Chemistry?" she asked. She didn't know Peter liked chemistry. That was her favorite subject. Ned nodded.

"Oh, yeah. He loves chemistry. I don't know why anyone would like it so much, but he's a genius at it." She might be terrible at math, but chemistry was her area of expertise. Adelaide never knew why, but it was her easiest subject. It came to her naturally – like a gift. Math on its own seemed like rocket science, but any math involved in chemical reactions was a breeze. She didn't get a chance to take the class this year because she was so late into the year, but she was definitely taking it next year at Midtown High.

"Sooo what did you do over the weekend, Adelaide?" Ned asked. She missed the huge grin on his face because she was thinking about Peter. For some reason, that day always put a smile on her face whenever she thought about it. Maybe it was those amazing chocolate chip cookies or Ben and May's amazing hospitality or even the thing with the nicknames. Thanks to Peter, she didn't hate math now. Although, she still disliked it and would do anything to avoid it, she didn't hate it. It was progress. Maybe next time, she would make progress on the actual math and not just how she felt about it.

"Not much," she answered, poking a piece of broccoli around with her fork, "Just homework, really." Ned's mouth fell open. Adelaide met Mr. Stark and she thought it was 'not much'?! This girl was something else. But Ned had held it in all weekend long and he just couldn't hold it in any longer. It spilled out of him.

"I saw you meet Mr. Stark!" he said, his voice nothing short of a shout. Adelaide looked at him with wide eyes, dropping her fork.

 _Shit_.

"You got out of the car with Happy Hogan and then you met Mr. Stark and you even met Pepper Potts! Adelaide you're so lucky!" He was bouncing in his seat now, beaming. This really was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him. He already felt famous. On the other hand, this was definitely not the coolest thing that had ever happened to Adelaide and she was struggling to get words out of her mouth. She looked around the room, but no one had seemed to hear her friend over the noise.

"Just wait until Peter hears about this!" Ned continued.

"You can't tell Peter!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. Ned looked confused.

"Why not?" he asked. He thought his friend would be happy to hear about this. Adelaide sat back in her seat, trying to regain composure. She needed to find an excuse that sounded believable. He saw her with Tony. Of course, she met him everyday, but she couldn't tell him that. To Ned, it was a big deal. What could she say?

"I just don't want you to tell Peter because..because…" Adelaide learned one thing: she didn't work great under pressure. And under pressure or not, she still was a terrible liar.

"Um…it's because I…because it…it's supposed to be a surprise! Yeah! A surprise!" Ned still looked confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Her smile vanished. What was the surprise?

"I…um, the surprise is that um…I…you and Peter get to meet Tony!" Adelaide found herself saying. Well, now there was another hole that she had dug for herself. How was she going to get out of this one? Ned looked ready to burst from happiness. He thought his friend meeting Mr. Stark was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him, but he was going to meet the legend himself! Ned thought he was going to pass out from the excitement.

"M-M-Mr. Stark? I'm going to meet Mr. Stark!" he yelled. Some girls who were walking by gave them a weird look and Adelaide shushed him.

"You have to be quiet about it!" Lying to one person was enough, Adelaide didn't know what she'd do if someone else heard.

"So do you see why you can't tell Peter about this?" she asked, hoping he'd understand. He nodded.

"Adelaide, I promise I won't tell Peter. Don't worry about it," Ned said, looking serious. Adelaide let out a sigh of relief.

"Won't tell me what?" And the relief was gone. Peter sat down next to Ned with his lunch tray, curiously looking between his two friends. What were they hiding? Luckily, Ned had Adelaide covered.

"It's nothing. Just something Adelaide told me about math, that's all," Ned said. Adelaide was impressed; Ned was a better liar than she thought **(A/N: who remembers the porn lie he told lol)**. Peter raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his face.

"Math? What, do you love math now or something?" he asked her teasingly. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"No. It's still the worst thing in the world," she said, sipping her water. As Peter was shaking his head at her, she secretly gave Ned a thumbs up who grinned brightly in return. He hated lying to his best friend, but this was for his surprise and Ned knew that Peter would love it more than anything. Adelaide hated lying to them, but it was for her own good and now she would have to find a way to actually arrange the surprise for them.

As Peter and Ned began talking about Legos, Adelaide suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. She could feel someone watching her, but when she whipped her head around, there was no one except a janitor mopping the floor by the doors. He was wearing a cap over his head and Adelaide couldn't see his face, but, for some reason, she felt as if he was watching her. She was just being paranoid, she told herself. Why would he be watching her? Adelaide turned away, joining her friends' conversation. She convinced herself that it was nothing. A moment later, when she glanced back at the doors, he was gone.

* * *

This wasn't the first time Graves had gotten excited about killing someone. He always made it theatrical, entertaining – for himself, at least.

With a knowing smile on his face, he cruised the halls with the janitor supplies that he had gotten from an open closet that he had found. He whistled a familiar tune, nodding at anyone passing by him. The trick to getting away with murder was to look like you belong. To do that, Graves had stayed up all night to memorize the layout of this school. Every hall and corner was etched into his memory. He even memorized the schedule so he'd know where everyone would be at every hour. At the moment, all of the kids were at lunch, leaving the halls empty for him. But he wasn't here to just cruise the halls, of course; he had a destination in mind.

Acting as nonchalant as possible, Graves entered the gym, pushing the cart into the teacher's lounge. Just as he had expected, there was only one person there at the moment and it was one of the few rooms in this school without a camera. That just made his job easier. Byron Ross was on the phone and he ignored the janitor that had just entered the room, rather annoyed by his noisiness. He was talking to his wife, convincing her that they will go on a vacation soon, but she didn't want to listen.

"Honey, I can't take any more days off work," he told her. Graves pulled out a mop from the cart and began mopping the floor, slowly moving closer to Ross as he did. Graves could feel the knife in his pocket and his fingers itched to pull it out, but he refrained; he would have to wait. Instead, he pulled his cap lower, covering his face.

"I'll lose my job!" he shouted into the phone, slamming his fist onto the table. The pens rattled, one of them rolling off. The ink splattered all over the floor. The two men made eye contact, Ross looked curious while Graves had a grin smeared onto his face. Without looking away from the janitor, Ross tried to end the call with his wife quickly.

"We'll talk about this when I get home, okay? Love you, bye." He put his phone into his pocket, eyes still on the janitor. Something about him didn't settle in Ross' chest.

"How come I've never seen you around?" Ross asked him. Graves merely shrugged.

"I'm new," he answered simply. Ross nodded, but he still felt something was off. He studied the janitor carefully.

"Are you going to clean that up?" Graves asked Ross, gesturing to the ink on the floor. Ross raised an eyebrow. The tension between the two men was evident, almost palpable.

"That's your job," he answered, feeling more curious. Something about this man didn't seem right. The janitor shrugged and began mopping up the ink. Ross stood there for a little while longer, studying the man. He looked lean and cunning. Like he knew something that Ross didn't. After a while, Ross convinced himself that it was all in his head and turned away to head back out to the gym. Lunch was almost over. Turning his back to the janitor was the worst decision Ross had ever made – and his last. The moment he'd turned away, Graves dropped the mop and whipped out his knife, holding it against the man's neck even before the mop hit the floor. His breath turned uneven from excitement. Ross closed his eyes, regretting every moment of this past minute. He should've trusted his gut, but it was too late now. He could feel the janitor's breath – although, Ross had figured out by now he wasn't really a janitor – on his neck, hot, heavy, and full of a terrible stench that might have been a cigarette or beer or both. Ross was suddenly aware of everything around him, his senses heightened. He felt his every breath, wondering which one was the last.

"Sorry, coach," Graves whispered into his ear. The smile in his voice was evident. Ross' heartbeat doubled, but his voice seemed to had stopped working. In a blink of an eye, Graves flipped Ross around and stabbed the knife into the man's chest, aiming for the heart. Ross screamed in agony, but the sound didn't leave the room because Graves covered his mouth. Ross fell to the ground, withering and clawing at the hands on his face that were suffocating him. He was starting to lose consciousness and his attempts to pull away were useless. Suddenly, he knew his next breath was his last.

"I always clean up after my messes." That was the last thing Ross heard before he closed his eyes forever.

And as Graves cleaned the evidence, there was only one person that he could think about. He was going meet her. Soon. Very soon.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is one day early, but also a little shorter than usual. So this is basically another buildup to the climax I'm wanting to hit and I promise it's coming and that it's vvverrry good. Soon. Very soon. Also, this chapter also has the consequences from the previous chapter which I apologize for lol. Ross wasn't supposed to die, but this is Graves we're talking about soooo. I guess Ross isn't gonna be going on that vacation with his wife anytime soon. Wow, I sound despicable. Hm.**

 **Anyway, my average for a chapter is usually about 3,000-4,000 words but this is around 2,000 words mainly because I didn't want to put too much in this chapter and it felt good to end it where I did. I will say that it ended with a lot more unanswered questions because you know I can't go too long without those :)**

 **That's about it, so here's chapter 10 (finally in the double digits lol).**

* * *

 _"Once Pepper says_

 _you gotta do something,_

 _there's no argument there."_

* * *

Once again, Ned Leeds was having another normal day as he told his mother goodbye and left the car. He was about to climb the concrete stairs to the entrance of Midtown Middle when he spotted a very familiar black car. How could he forget it? It was the car that he had seen Adelaide get out of before she entered the Stark Tower and met Tony Stark. Of course, there were many cars like that one in all of New York, but he knew it was the same one when his friend stepped out of it. His heartbeat sped up, wondering who else must be inside that car. It was just his luck when the window of the driver's seat rolled down, revealing the face of Happy Hogan. Adelaide bent over, talking to him. Ned wasn't that far away and he could hear their conversation pretty clearly.

"Happy, you drop me here and pick me up every day," she said, "By now you should know how terrible this dump is."

"Not my problem, kid. Tony and Pepper sent you here, tell them." Adelaide sighed.

"I've told Pepper a million times, but she says I have to go to school. Something about education and friends. But I have better things to do, you know." Happy chuckled.

"Once Pepper says you gotta do something, there's no argument there," he said, making Adelaide sigh and slump her shoulders lazily against the car. "At three, okay?"

"Can't you take me back to the Tower now?" she asked.

"Pepper's orders. And, hey, try to have some fun." he said, beginning to roll up the window and Adelaide took a step back. "But not too much. Bye, kid." Adelaide stood there until the car rolled away, wondering if he'd notice her if she climbed on top of it and made herself invisible. In fact, it wasn't such a terrible idea. She could just hitch a ride back to the Tower with Happy and wander around invisibly until 3 and hitch a ride to school where Happy would take her back. It was a genius plan, but she doubted the unexcused absences would go unnoticed by Pepper.

"Bye," she mumbled to herself before turning away and climbing the stairs that ascended to her least favorite place. In the midst of her sulking, she didn't notice her friend standing there, his mouth agape. She walked past him, waiting for this day to end already so she could go back to the Tower.

Ned was left dumbfounded at how casual his friend had been talking to Happy Hogan. She said that he drove her here and back every day. He had so many questions, he didn't know what to think first. Why did Happy Hogan drive her every day? Did she always go back to the Stark Tower after school? What if…What if she _lived_ at the Stark Tower? Ned shook his head. That was absurd. Crazy. Preposterous. Insane. If she lived at the Stark Tower, then she'd tell them…right? As crazy as the idea was, what if it was true? Then that meant Adelaide _lived with Tony Stark_. And Pepper Potts?! What on earth was going on? Ned felt dizzy with all the questions and he leaned onto the railing on the stairs for support. None of this made sense. Had Adelaide been lying? Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions, but…wait. Did Timothy Lark even exist? And what about the keychains? Ned didn't know what to do. He stood there, against the railing, trying to sort out what he knew from what he thought he knew, but the line had become fuzzy. The only way he could find out the truth was to ask Adelaide herself, but if what he thought was true, and she had been lying this whole time, then would she tell him to truth now? There was so much he didn't know, but he was dying to find out.

Suddenly, the bell rang and Ned absentmindedly hurried to class, his mind foggy. He knew had to do something. But what?

* * *

Adelaide had begrudgingly dragged herself to English and plopped down in her seat next to Michelle who's nose was already stuck in a book. Adelaide couldn't understand how someone could want to read this early in the morning. She'd rather take a nap, but just as she was about to lay her head down on her desk, Mrs. Goodall clapped her hands, her annoying smile just making Adelaide feel lazier. How were these people so energetic at this hour?

"I hope you all remember the test that we have today and studied well in advance. Please clear your desk and have out a pencil while I pass out the tests," she announced, sounding happy about it. Adelaide threw her head back and groaned. She had forgotten all about the test and hadn't studied at all. Just great. Maybe after seeing how many tests Adelaide was failing, Pepper would realize that school just wasn't for her and let her out. She laughed to herself. Like Pepper would do anything that absurd. Adelaide sighed when Mrs. Goodall put the test on her desk. It already looked hard. She glanced over at Michelle who was already working on her test, as the rest of the class was. Adelaide glanced at Mrs. Goodall, who was writing something on the board, her back to the class.

"Pst," she whispered, "Did you study?" Michelle gave her a glare and went back to writing on her test. Adelaide took that as a yes and slumped back in her seat, defeated. There was no point in stalling. The answers weren't going to come floating to her so might as well start it now. Just as she picked up her pencil, the intercom crackled to life.

 _"_ _Attention all Midtown students. There is an emergency assembly in the gym. Teachers, please lead your classes to the gym in a calm and cordial manner. Thank you."_

As much as Adelaide wanted an excuse to not take the test, the announcement made her heart beat faster. She could feel in her chest that something wasn't right, but she didn't know what. She was in the dark, just as the rest of the school seemed to be. Mrs. Goodall didn't miss a beat and she began leading the class out of the room in a line, the smile still on her face. Adelaide didn't miss how it was slightly trembling as she passed by her on her way out. Adelaide's stomach was tying itself into knots. She hated not knowing what was going on and she found herself feeling for her scar as she walked in the line to the gym. This time, it did nothing to comfort her.

Adelaide turned around to ask Michelle if she knew what was happening, but the girl wasn't there. Strange, she thought. She swore Michelle was right behind her as they left the classroom together. Adelaide scanned the rest of the line, but Michelle had seemingly disappeared and Mrs. Goodall didn't even seem to notice. The moment they approached the gym doors, Adelaide forgot all about Michelle and her heartbeat doubled. She was anxious to know what was happening. Once inside, she craned her neck, trying to see what was happening, but she couldn't see past the large crowd of kids in front of her. Somehow still calm and collected, Mrs. Goodall directed them to the bleachers. She wasn't smiling anymore.

Adelaide scanned the bleachers and found Peter and Ned sitting next to each other. She ignored Mrs. Goodall's instructions and walked past her to her friends. As she crossed the distance to them, she could finally see what was going on. It was a confusing sight and all Adelaide got were more questions. There were several police officers and men dressed in suits, all of them wearing a grave look on their face. Their principal was among them, who was normally a happy guy was now looking solemn as he watched the kids pile into the bleachers. Adelaide's breath was stuck in her throat as she took in the scene. What had happened?

"Do you know what's going on?" Peter asked her. Adelaide shook her head and glanced at Peter and Ned. Judging by the looks on their faces, they knew this was something serious. In fact, everyone in the room knew it was something serious. No one was making jokes and aside from the tense murmuring, it was quiet. After everyone had settled into the bleachers, their principal, Mr. Morris, stood up, clearing his throat. The whole room fell silent and the hairs on her arm rose. She shared a worried glance with Peter. The curiosity was ripping her apart.

"Students and teachers," he said, "I'm sure you all are wondering what is going on. There has been…an incident at our school. It happened yesterday. More specifically, at 1:34 pm. I…I have no words to say about how deeply I feel about this, but I will let Officer Kindcaid explain the events." He sat down, but Adelaide's eyes continued to watch Mr. Morris. The man suddenly looked very tired. She could see it in his slumped shoulders and the way his eyes looked lost like he didn't know where to look and if he did, he seemed to be looking far away, into his thoughts. Officer Kincaid stood up and the air around them tensed even more – if that was even possible.

"Students," he began, his voice hard like a rock, "your beloved coach, coach Byron Ross died yesterday, here in this gym." Loud gasps came from the crowd, but Adelaide couldn't make a sound. Sure she hadn't known Coach Ross very well, but the fact that someone had died in the same building that she was in when he did and now she was standing in the room where it happened, chilled her to her bones.

"Oh…my god," she heard Ned say. Peter was turning slightly pale and Ned looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Adelaide was rubbing her thumb over her scar over and over again. There was a terrible feeling in her chest that she couldn't explain. Maybe it was the essence of death in the room.

"Our investigation reveals that he did not die a natural death. We cannot be sure yet, but we have reason believe it was a terrible accident. Again, this is not what we believe happened for certain, and we are still hard at work trying to find the answer. Our job is a bit difficult due to the fact that Bryon Ross's body is nowhere to be found, but we will not let that stop us. Mr. Morris has informed us that, during the moment of the incident, you were all in the cafeteria. My request is that if any one of you know anything that might be able to help, we encourage you to step up and tell us. We're the good guys and we're here to help. My team and I going to be here for the remainder of this day so if you have anything to tell us, don't hesitate. We want to know what happened to Byron Ross as much as you do. Thank you for your cooperation."

For a moment, no one moved. Then, it was like everyone wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Frozen in shock, the three teenagers took their time to leave the gym and even then, they were silent. Until:

"I can't believe this is happening," Ned said, staring straight ahead. Peter nodded in agreement.

"Me neither. I mean, we were right here in the same building when it happened."

"How do you think it happened?" Adelaide asked. The boys shrugged.

"I have no idea," Peter said, "It could be anything." For the rest of the day, Adelaide continued to ponder about what the accident could've been. Something still didn't feel right. If it was an accident, then why were there so many police and detectives there? Mr. Morris' face did not say that Coach Ross had died by accident. Her gut was telling her something just wasn't right. Adelaide knew the NYPD knew more than they let on, but how was she supposed to find out what they were hiding? There must be a reason they were hiding it. Adelaide just had to know why.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Am I late? Am I early? Honestly, I don't know anymore. This chapter was kind of tricky to write considering that halfway through writing it, I realized something. Remember the long timeline from like chapter 6? Yeah, well it was wrong. I thought Age of Ultron happened in 2016 along with Civil War but turns out that I had just made a typo on my phone that made 2015 into 2016 which is just great because now I had to re-plot everything that I had planned and all the climaxes that I had been building have to be put on hold now and hopefully, it's smooth and not too noticeable. Hopefully. So with all that being said, Age of Ultron starts next chapter and I had to kind of fast forward the time after this chapter.**

 **Anyway, so last chapter we saw Adelaide and the rest of Midtown Middle finding out about Coach Ross' death. This chapter, a little bit of a cliffhanger, but not really a major one and the consequences following the last chapter with the assembly and Coach Ross' murder. Originally it was supposed to be longer, but then I realized that it didn't fit so I took out a whole scene and I realize that I'm just rambling at this point. Sorry. It's this stupid timeline that keep messing with my head. I just can't seem to get it right and it's sooooo annoyingggggg. Ughhh. Anyway, you guys just sit back and relax with this chapter while I continue to pull my hair out in the background.**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: First of all, can I just say thank you for leaving great reviews on every chapter? I always look forward to reading them, so thank you so much! And as for Ned, I guess we'll just have to see...**_

 _ **lizlil: I really appreciate you taking time to leave a review for every chapter! It's so fun to read them! And your reaction about Ross dying was great lol.**_

 **Also, thank you to _Flufflymarshmallows_ , _lizlil_ , and _cats131011_ for following/favoriting or leaving a review! It really means a lot!**

* * *

 _"We were just breaking up."_

* * *

The funeral for Coach Ross had been over the weekend and everyone she knew had attended. Even Flash was there. Adelaide had managed to coax Pepper into coming with her, although she hid her face behind a thick scarf and a hat. JARVIS thought that fake prescription glasses would disguise her better so Pepper ended up wearing those, too.

Although many people attended, it was a small service. Adelaide noticed a woman silently crying next to the casket and the teenager assumed she was Coach Ross' wife. She looked regretful and tired as if she was holding the weight of a million worlds on her shoulders. Her hands kept wandering and Adelaide realized it was because she didn't know where to put them anymore. Adelaide was sitting towards the back of the church next to Pepper when Peter and Ned walked in. Adelaide waved her hand to get their attention as they walked past and then the two boys took a seat next to her.

"Uh, hi…" Peter said, and Adelaide realized he was talking to Pepper. Suddenly, it struck her that she hadn't thought of a fake name for Pepper. Luckily, Pepper had it figured out.

"Hi, I'm Virginia, Adelaide's aunt. You must be Peter. Adelaide's told me a lot about you," she said and Adelaide subtly elbowed her. Peter smiled.

"Nice to meet you," he replied politely, pushing his glasses up.

"Ned, right?" Pepper asked, smiling at Ned who looked slightly confused. Adelaide raised an eyebrow, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Y-Yeah," he said, laughing nervously, "That's me."

The funeral service started and ended within the half-hour and then they all gathered outside as the casket was buried. The police never did find Coach Ross' body so the casket was buried with memories of him. It was a peaceful service. The chill had lessened and there was only a light breeze outside as the sun was setting into the city skyline, coloring the sky a million colors. Maybe Coach Ross would've thought it was too soft or too beautiful – he was a little unsentimental – but it clearly brought contentment to his wife's heart. Somewhere during the service, she had found her closure.

After the service was over, everyone began departing. It had started to get colder and people huddled in their coats, quickly walking to their car for warmth. Adelaide hung back with Peter and Ned as Pepper left to get the car started.

"It was very nice to meet you two," Pepper told Peter and Ned before heading off. For a moment, the three of them stood in the grass, silently watching the skyline.

"Your aunt's really nice," Peter said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"So is yours," Adelaide replied, shrugging. They were silent again.

"It was a great service," Ned said after a while. The other two teenagers nodded in agreement. Once again, silence passed over them. It was interrupted when someone shouted Peter's name. It was Ben, behind the wheel of a car. Adelaide grinned, waving at him. The three teenagers walked along with Peter to his car.

"Hey kids," Ben said, "How'd it go?"

"I think his wife needed this," Adelaide said. Ben nodded understandingly.

"See you tomorrow, guys," Peter said, waving as he walked over to the passenger seat.

"See ya," Ned said, waving back. Adelaide stuffed her hands in her coat.

"Bye Pete, see you, Ben. Tell May I said hi," she said, taking a step back. Peter waved.

"Will do," Ben replied, "Bye Ned." He rolled up the window and then drove away. Right behind Peter's car, Ned's mother was waiting for him. Ned said goodbye and got into his car and left, leaving Adelaide alone with her thoughts. She briefly wondered what was taking Pepper so long. Adelaide found a bench near the sidewalk and sat down, pulling her coat tighter. She could begin to see her breath when she exhaled. The sun had set and the city was starting to get a lot colder. From the corner of her eye, Adelaide saw someone sitting down on the bench, next to her. Turning to look, she saw that it was Michelle. Adelaide realized that she hadn't seen her since the day she had disappeared before the assembly.

"Hey Michelle," she greeted, "Where were you? You missed the whole service." Michelle stared straight ahead, at Coach Ross's tombstone. Her gaze was hard as ice and Adelaide hesitated to ask why.

"There's something I have to tell you," she said after a long while. She was still staring at the tombstone. Adelaide studied her curiously. Michelle had never showed this much emotion before. Something was definitely wrong.

"What is it?" she asked the girl carefully. One wrong move, and Michelle might not tell her at all and Adelaide was dying to know. Michelle took her time to answer. She inhaled deeply, but her breath was shaky.

"Coach Ross didn't die by accident." Adelaide's heartbeat sped up and she found herself leaning forward as if doing so would make her say it faster. She had been right about the NYPD hiding something, but how did Michelle know what it was?

"He was _murdered_."

"Adelaide!" Adelaide whipped her head around, fear coursing through her veins. It was Pepper waiting in the car. Adelaide held up a hand, telling her to wait. When she turned back to Michelle, she was gone. The teenager stood up, frantically scanning the whole cemetery for her, but she was nowhere. It was completely dark now and it would be impossible to even try to look for the girl. Taking a shaky breath, Adelaide stuffed her hands in her coat and hurried out of the graveyard.

* * *

The next day at school, Adelaide was anxious to find her curly-haired friend. The suspense had kept her awake all night long and she hadn't been able to get even a wink of sleep. Despite that, she didn't feel tired at all. If anything, she was pumped with adrenaline. At this point, it was the only thing keeping her from nodding off. She was jittery, constantly tapping her foot or pen, always searching the room as if she was expecting something to jump out at her. And to make things worse, she had a double dose of caffeine this morning, the second cup hidden from Pepper, of course. Tony had watched her swallow the whole cup in seconds, but didn't bother asking. At this point, the billionaire knew the teenager was more questions than answers.

Michelle wasn't in English in the morning or even at lunch in the afternoon. Adelaide had searched the library 7 times now, in hopes that she would find her there, but no avail. Peter and Ned could clearly see the worry on their friend's face as she plopped down in front of them.

"Where's your lunch?" Peter asked her. She barely seemed to hear his question, staring at the empty spot by the wall. Where on earth _was_ that girl? She was driving Adelaide up the wall.

"Adelaide," Ned said, waving his hand in front of her. She blinked, looking away.

"Hm? Oh, I'm not hungry," she answered. Truth was, she hadn't eaten anything all day besides the two – three – cups of coffee which, she doubted counted. Even then, she wasn't hungry and she knew she wouldn't be until she figured out what the hell was going on. Adelaide began tapping her foot anxiously, searching the cafeteria. She knew Michelle was here – she had seen her this morning as she was walking into school. Adelaide had ran after her, shouted her name, but the girl had kept walking and after she had turned the corner, it was like she had disappeared into the crowd of kids and Adelaide hadn't seen her since. If there was one thing Michelle was good at, it was hiding. You couldn't find her unless she wanted to be found. But if there was one thing Adelaide was good at, it was being stubborn. She going to find Michelle somehow even if it meant tracking her down to her house. Although, she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Adelaide, are you okay?" Ned asked, "You seem a little…"

"Jumpy," Peter finished. Adelaide shook her head.

"I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." The two boys hardly looked convinced and shared a worried look.

"If you say so," Ned said, turning back to his lunch. Peter continued to watch the girl, not entirely convinced. She was hiding something.

"What it is, Ada?" he asked. The use of the nickname made Adelaide look at him. He looked genuinely concerned. Adelaide forced a smile.

"I'm fine, really," she said, hoping that would be enough to convince him. "I've just had a lot of coffee today, that's all."

"I heard about this woman who bought a coffee from Starbucks and she found a spider inside so she sued and won a million dollars," Ned said, "Did you find a spider in your coffee?" Despite the stress, Adelaide smiled. He could be such a dork sometimes.

"No, Ned, I didn't find a spider in my coffee today. You'll be the first to know if I do." After that, Peter and Ned launched off into a conversation about people suing other people and Adelaide silently slipped out of the cafeteria. She decided to go to the bathroom to wash her face, maybe clear her a mind a little. She could definitely use some cold water to wake herself up. Since everyone was at lunch, the bathroom was empty which was just what Adelaide needed. Some peace and quiet. Just as she was wiping her face with a paper towel, Adelaide heard the sound of a toilet flushing and then Michelle walked out of the stall. Adelaide was onto her in seconds.

"Where the _hell_ have you been? I've been looking for you all day like a complete madwoman," she whisper-yelled. Even the walls had ears, but Adelaide was barely keeping her temper in check right now. Michelle had gone MIA ever since this morning and now she turns up – 7 hours later – in the fucking bathroom. Did she have any idea how anxious Adelaide had been all day?

"Avoiding you," the girl answered, walking past her to wash her hands. Adelaide stood in her spot for a second, wondering what on earth just happened. Then, she followed Michelle to the sink, angered.

" _Avoiding me?_ What the hell, Michelle? _You_ came up to _me_ yesterday. You don't just drop a sentence like that on someone and expect them to go on merrily with their life." She wasn't even trying to keep quiet now; the anger that had built up over the day was finally released and Michelle happened to be the person it was for. Yet, the curly-haired girl seemed unaffected as she calmly washed her hands.

"Excuse me," Michelle said, walking past Adelaide to grab a paper towel. Adelaide stood in front of the dispenser.

"No. Don't do that. You have to tell me everything you know," Adelaide demanded. Michelle gave her a hard look. Adelaide sighed.

" _Please_." It was Michelle's turn to sigh as she turned away, drying her hands on her pants. For a long, anxious moment, Michelle stood there with her back to Adelaide while Adelaide impatiently waited for the girl the say something.

"I told you everything I know." Adelaide laughed involuntarily. The sound was unexpected in a conversation like this.

"No, you didn't. You know more."

"Adelaide."

"Michelle." It was silent again between the two until Adelaide sighed. Suddenly, a blonde-headed girl walked into the bathroom, looking at Adelaide and then at Michelle. Adelaide began tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the girl to leave. She took her time in the bathroom and then what seemed like 20 minutes to wash her hands. The blonde kept glancing at the other two girls with curious eyes and Adelaide internally groaned. Could she be any more slower?

"We were just breaking up," Adelaide told her as the girl lingered by the door to watch them. At the statement, the blonde's eyes grew wide and she quickly walked out the door. Finally. Adelaide turned to Michelle's back, wondering how she was supposed to convince this girl to spill her secrets.

"Look, Michelle, I don't know why you told me what you did, but if you trusted me once, you can trust me again." Michelle didn't answer for so long, Adelaide almost thought she wasn't going to. Then:

"I had to tell someone what I saw, but I didn't want to tell the NYPD," she said. Adelaide was all ears now and she carefully took a step forward.

"What did you see?" she asked quietly. In the mirror, Adelaide saw Michelle's shoulders slumping.

"I was in the library when it happened. I saw a man, dragging Coach Ross' body in a body bag. I know, because I saw his shoes sticking out. The man was holding a knife that still had blood on it. I didn't see his face, but he was wearing janitor's pants," she said, turning around, "That's all I know. Now will you stop bothering me?" Adelaide nodded, too shocked to speak. She stared at the floor where Michelle was standing as the girl walked out of the bathroom, seemingly in a rush to leave. Adelaide leaned against the wall, thinking. She still had so many questions, but she knew Michelle wasn't going to answer them whether she knew the answers or not. There was only one way to find the truth.

Adelaide would have to get the answers herself.

* * *

The gym was surprisingly silent. Ever since the assembly, people had tried to avoid coming here as much as possible for obvious reasons. The school hadn't been able to find a coach to replace Coach Ross yet, so they were making do with a substitute teacher who really didn't know how to coach at all. Now, everybody just aimlessly walked around the gym during class. The substitute, Coach Stiles, was a lanky guy and he only emerged from his office to take roll. And that was only if he remembered to do it.

Adelaide made herself invisible before walking through the gym doors, just to be safe even though there was not one person here. It wasn't just the students who were avoiding this place. Only couple overhead lights were on and since there were no windows in the gym, it was kind of dark, making the gym look slightly eerie. Finally, Adelaide made her way to the teacher's lounge. It was marked off by several yellow 'DO NOT CROSS' tapes, but Adelaide ignored them. She needed to find the truth and she wasn't resting until she did. Quietly as possible, she twisted open the door which was left stupidly unlocked. The NYPD put a million tapes and signs to shield the door, but they didn't think about locking it. Shaking her head, Adelaide walked inside.

Inside, the room was pitch black. She fumbled for a light switch and then the room lit up, row by row. It was a rather narrow room, but excessively long. It probably crossed the length of the gym. She closed the door behind her. Her heart was beating twice as fast and her stomach was tying itself into knot after knot. Adelaide forced herself to stay calm and focus. She was here to look for clues, not get distracted by her extremely loud heartbeat that was pounding in her ears. Michelle had said the man had a knife which meant he had stabbed Coach Ross. Adelaide began searching through the room, looking for anything that screamed murder. She looked in the cabinets, under the desks, and even in the fridge. Whoever had killed Coach Ross was a professional and he didn't leave behind a single clue. Then, her eyes landed on a file cabinet which was left slightly ajar. There was a piece of paper sticking out of it and as Adelaide picked it out, she realized it was covered in blood. She let out a small scream, dropping it.

For a moment, she leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and tried to get her hands to stop shaking. Then, being extra careful, she bent over and picked the paper up again. How had the NYPD missed this? With shaky hands, she unfolded the paper, being careful to avoid touching the blood. In the note, there were only two words that instilled fear into Adelaide's bones beyond imagination.

 _Stop looking._

From that moment on, Adelaide couldn't think of anything but the murder and who had done it. It haunted her like a ghost. Yet, ever since then, she was too terrified to even look for answers. And after a month without answers or even clues, Adelaide decided that it was really time to stop searching. The NYPD had given up already. A month later, Adelaide had officially given up, too.

* * *

 **A/N: All this suspense...I tried my best to build the climax and hopefully your heartbeat sped up at least little. Anyway, next chapter is kickstarting Age of Ultron! Woohoo! I'm actually so excited for this even though it means I'll probably have to rewatch the movie sometime and I honestly don't know when I'll be able to do that. Probably, I'll be staying up till 2 am to watch it so helloo dark circles. There's this character that I AM SO EXCITED for in Age of Ultron and he/she is probably gonna end up being like Adie's best friend (after Peter and Ned, of course). Bet you can't guess who...**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Age of Ultron! Finally! I honestly had so much fun writing this with half my screen playing the clip from the movie and the other half with word as I wrote the dialogue. So this chapter came a little late, but I finished writing it on my phone yesterday as I was in bed and then I couldn't upload it from my phone and then I didn't get a hold of my laptop all morning until just now so I'm writing this author's not really fast just so I can get the chapter up. But, to make up for it there's a lotttt of stuff going on in this chapter. For one, we get to see Pepper go mom mode again and a little bit of Irondad. A certain uncle makes an appearance. Flash is...well, he's just Flash. There's other people, but I'm just trying to get this up like I said. I haven't really edited it, but let's hope it's alright.**

 **This chapter is mainly a lot of short scenes because there was so much that I wanted to put in the chapter, but then I couldn't fit it all so it kinda just ended up being a collection of short scenes and a really long chapter. Oops. And, like I mentioned in the previous chapter, there were some climaxes that I was building that I kind of had to end up putting on hold for now, but let's hope the transition is smooth enough that it's not that noticeable. This chapter is set about a month after the whole Coach Ross fiasco (which, just a side note, they haven't found a replacement for him yet). Anyway, next chapter is just gonna be the Avengers and Adelaide so yay.**

 **Also, can I just say WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE CAP!**

 **Thanks to _WorldofPedz, lozza, pastelpotter, evemarie07, lizlil, Fluffymarshmallows_ , and _Guest_ for either favoriting/following, or leaving a review in the last chapter! Thanks so much guys!**

* * *

 _"Language!"_

* * *

It was a very rainy day in New York. Well, more like a rainy week. It had been raining constantly all week long and Adelaide was getting tired of all the gray outside. It was making her sick. She had gotten a _very_ small cold a couple days ago, but she didn't dare sniffle around Pepper or that woman was going to stick Adelaide in bed and keep her there until she wasn't sick anymore. Adelaide shivered at the thought and maybe from her cold. She couldn't imagine having to stay in bed all day.

"Adelaide! You're gonna be late for school!" Pepper yelled from the kitchen. Just as she was about to zip up her backpack, she sneezed, causing everything to fall to the floor. Groaning, Adelaide bent over to stuff everything into her backpack again. This day was proving to be very annoying. As she was standing up, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Wow, she looked terrible. Pepper was never going to let her leave the Tower if she showed up like this. Adelaide used a little light coming from the window to lessen the red on her nose and make herself look a little more awake. There. All fixed.

"Adelaide!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she shouted, dragging herself out of her room. She realized her voice sounded very nasal which would be a big giveaway. Her powers couldn't fix that. Pepper emerged from the kitchen, two cups of coffee in her hand. She handed one to Adelaide who was so grateful to be able to hold something warm. Pepper tilted her head, curiously studying the teenager. There was something…different about her this morning.

"Are your eyes…glowing?" she asked. Adelaide's eyes grew wide. Crap. She'd completely forgotten about that. Adelaide shook her head quickly. If she talked, then her voice would definitely give her away. She couldn't say a word. Not entirely convinced, Pepper went to grab her raincoat and Adelaide headed towards the door. Just before her hand could reach the doorknob, Pepper stopped her. Adelaide closed her eyes, cursing at how hard it was to hide a cold. Slowly, the teenager turned around with one eyebrow raised in question.

"I'm coming with you today," Pepper said, "I have a meeting and it's down the same road Happy's taking you." Adelaide suppressed a groan. Did she have to have her meeting today of all days? Pepper ruffled her hair.

"What's the frown for?" she asked, amused. Adelaide shrugged and then headed out the door leaving Pepper feeling very confused as she followed after her. Teenagers could be a headache to figure out. All the way until they reached Midtown Middle, Adelaide struggled to keep her mouth shut and ignore and sneeze that was trying to blow her cover. It was harder than she thought it would be. Finally, they arrived at Midtown and Adelaide had never been happier to see the dump. The car had barely stopped before Adelaide was stumbling out of it, hauling her backpack and umbrella behind her.

"Bye Pep! Bye Happs!" she said over her shoulder. It took her a moment to realize what just happened and she froze on the sidewalk. So close. Slowly, she turned around, seeing Pepper's eyebrow raised. There was a small smirk on her face and Adelaide knew her cover was blown. Adelaide dropped the illusion on her face, sighing. Her nose was probably shining red like a lightbulb.

"So that's why you haven't said a word to me all morning," Pepper said, "Get back in, we're going home right now."

"But –"

"Adelaide." Adelaide realized Pepper wasn't going to budge so she turned around and bolted up the stairs and into the school while Pepper shouted behind her. Adelaide relaxed when she saw the black car rolling away through the window. A second later, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she fished it out with one hand while holding the umbrella in the other. It was a message from Pepper, not so surprisingly.

 _Pepper: Don't think you've won._

Rolling her eyes, Adelaide slipped the phone back into her pocket. As she was putting her umbrella into a plastic bag, Peter and Ned approached her.

"Hey Adelaide," Ned said, holding onto his backpack straps. Adelaide opened her mouth to reply when she sneezed instead. She shook her head.

"черт возьми. Sorry," she mumbled, "I'm just really…"

"Sick," Peter finished. "Here." He handed her a tissue from a packet, but she took the whole packet instead.

"Thanks," she said, wiping her nose. Ned and Peter shared a worried look that Adelaide noticed from the corner of her eye. Just as Peter was about to open his mouth, Adelaide beat him to it.

"No, I'm not going back home. It's just a runny nose. I'll be fine," she said. It was just a stupid cold. It would go away soon. She couldn't be controlled by a measly cold. Just then, the bell rang and everybody began rushing to class. Adelaide had English on the second floor while the other two had PE on the first floor.

"Have fun doing nothing in PE," she said as she walked past them and up the stairs. Her feet felt like jelly and she was barely able to hold her own weight up. Somehow, she made to English. Adelaide felt like she could fall asleep standing if she closed her eyes. Instead, she dragged herself to her desk and dropped her backpack onto the floor. She pulled out the packet of tissues Peter had given her and blew her nose, catching the attention of the curly-haired girl sitting next to her. She looked up from her book accusingly, as if Adelaide was disturbing her more than Flash bragging about himself in the front of the room.

"I'm not sick," she told her with a nasal voice. She sneezed. Michelle raised an eyebrow and then went back to reading. Adelaide rolled her eyes and blew her nose again. Over the past month, the two girls had silently gone back to their old habits where they ignored each other most of the time. The incident was behind them and they both tried to avoid it as much as possible. It was not a good memory in Adelaide's mind and Michelle felt the same way.

Mrs. Goodall appeared in front of the class with that annoying smile that Adelaide so badly wanted to smack off her face. No one could always be that smiley all the time. She clapped her hands and the class fell silent.

"Everyone, please take out your homework from last night and leave it on your desk. I will come by and pick it up." Adelaide groaned. She forgot to do the homework again. In fact, there might have been only one or two times that she actually had remembered to do her English homework, but unluckily, this was not one of those times. Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn't done her Algebra homework either. Great. For the rest of the class, Adelaide worked on Algebra while Mrs. Goodall gave another extremely boring lecture about sentence structure. If it wasn't for the incomplete homework, Adelaide would've just taken a nap. When the bell rang again, Adelaide was bolting out the door when Mrs. Goodall stopped her.

"Miss Rivers, please try to remember to do the homework for tonight," she said. Adelaide sneezed in response and Mrs. Goodall ushered her out of the room, mumbling something about germs. Rolling her eyes, Adelaide hitched her backpack higher up on her shoulder and headed to her next class. God, she hoped there wasn't any more homework that she had forgotten about. She sneezed again.

* * *

At lunch time, Adelaide was barely hungry. Her taste buds were dead and she felt like anything she would eat would come right back up. Not to mention the headache that was making a debut behind her eyes wasn't helping her situation. She plopped down in front of Peter and Ned who seemed to be in a heavy discussion about something. Well, someone.

"Only a few more months until we get to meet Liz again," Ned said excitedly, causing Adelaide to raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Peter said dreamily, "I can't wait." Adelaide sneezed, making the two boys turn to look at her. The faraway look in Peter's eye disappeared as he caught sight of his friend's impossibly blue eyes. Even though she was sick, her eyes hadn't dimmed. He pushed up his glasses as Adelaide coughed.

"Who's Liz?" she asked, drinking a sip of her water. Whoever she was, she had Peter completely under her spell.

"Liz Allan is one of the most smartest, prettiest, nicest, stylish —" Adelaide cut Ned off.

"Okay. I get it. She's perfect," Adelaide mumbled through her nasal voice. Ned nodded in agreement. Over the past month, Ned hadn't seen Adelaide with Happy Hogan again, although she did come to school in the same black car. He didn't see Adelaide with Tony Stark or Pepper Potts again and when he'd asked her about the surprise where he and Peter would get to meet Mr. Stark, she'd said 'Tony's a busy guy, but my uncle's trying his best to get an appointment.' That was a few weeks ago and he hadn't heard anything since then. He had decided that she wasn't lying and her uncle would get the appointment soon.

"She's better than perfect," Peter mumbled, sounding dreamy again. Adelaide rolled her eyes. Boys. She snapped her fingers in front of him, catching his attention again. She pulled out her algebra homework and laid it on the table. Adelaide squinted at it, but it just looked like scribbles to her. She couldn't even read her own handwriting.

"I need you to check my homework," she told him as she shifted through her backpack for a pencil. Peter sighed.

"I'm not doing your homework for you again, Ada." Adelaide looked shocked.

"Again? When was the first time you did it?" He shrugged, pushing his glasses up. His habit was starting to get annoying for some reason.

"Take a guess."

"Okay, okay. So you've helped me a couple — at lot — of times, but I'm not asking you to do it for me," she argued, "I just need you to check it. I've already done it."

"Ada, you've answered 2 questions. And," he studied them, skimming through, "they're both wrong." Huh. She could've sworn she'd done more problems. English had definitely lasted longer than two math problems. Maybe it was the nap she ended up taking…

"So you're going to refuse to help a sick person?" she asked innocently. There was no other way to get out of this. She sneezed for the effect, although it just happened to be perfectly timed. Peter sighed again .

"Fine. I'll show you how to do it," he mumbled. She shrugged, considering it.

"Deal," she said.

After the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, the three teenagers walked together to their Algebra class when (not so surprisingly) Flash stopped them. They were just walking past him when Adelaide heard him fake a sneeze. She stopped, turning around.

"Mrs. Goodall," he mocked to his friends, "I'm so sick I can't do my homework." Adelaide's hands turned into fists as she slowly turned around. Ned and Peter shared a worried glance. Not for Adelaide, but for Flash. If there was one person in the this school who wasn't afraid of Flash Thompson it was Adelaide. In fact, the two boys realized that they couldn't think of anything that Adelaide was afraid of.

"Do you wanna say that again?" she asked Flash. Her voice was cold and collected. It would have been less terrifying if she had yelled at him. Yet Flash wasn't intimidated. Instead, he laughed.

"Yeah, I said you're so sick you never –" Adelaide had him shoved up against a locker before he even finished his sentence. Flash started to look a little panicked, but he tried to keep it off his face. Adelaide had had a pretty shitty day with her cold and taking it out on Flash never felt better. Besides, he was always asking for it. Right now, she was just giving him what he deserved. Adelaide realized there was a small crowd that had formed around them, but she was too angry to care. Who was he to make fun of her?

"Do you wanna say that again?" she repeated. Her voice was almost a whisper, but they halls were so silent, everybody heard it. Flash glared at her. How dare she humiliate him?

"Yeah," he said, "I said you're so sick –" She punched his jaw and then dropped him onto the floor.

"Wrong answer," she said before walking away. Peter and Ned hurried after her as the bell rang and the crowd dispersed. Flash sat there, angry and humiliated. He gingerly touched the place where she had punched him and winced. He gritted his teeth, feeling a bruise coming onto his jaw. She wouldn't get away with embarrassing him.

* * *

Adelaide sneezed, pushing open the doors to the penthouse. After her fight with Flash, she'd been called into the counselor's office and was warned to never do something like that again or he would have to call her guardians blah, blah, blah…Adelaide couldn't care less what that bald guy threatened. If Flash was going pick on her, then she was going to make sure they were even. It was only fair.

When she walked into the kitchen, she noticed that there was someone else sitting on the island with Tony.

"Bruce?" she asked, making him turn around. He waved.

"Hey Adelaide," he said, "How are you doing?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, glancing at Tony, who was messing with something on his phone.

"It's nice to see you, too," Bruce replied. Adelaide rolled her eyes, grabbing a couple chocolates from the fridge and sitting across from him on the island.

"Seriously," she said, "What are you doing here?" She glanced at Tony and then back at Bruce. "Is there something going on...?"

"Well, actually Tony and I were just talking about –"

"Actually," Tony interrupted, "Bruce and I were just talking about technical stuff. Nothing you would understand." Adelaide rolled her eyes, sneezing again.

"Whatever," she mumbled, taking her chocolates and leaving the kitchen. As soon as she entered her room, Adelaide left the chocolates on her table, made herself invisible, and quietly opened her door just enough to let herself step out without making any noise. Then, she silently tiptoed into the kitchen, leaning against the wall farthest from the island.

"So what do we do now?" Bruce asked quietly. Tony stood up.

"We go and get the scepter," Tony said it like it was obvious. Adelaide raised her eyebrows. Scepter? As in Loki's scepter? Like the one he used to mind control SHIELD agents?

"Where's the rest of the team?" Bruce asked after a while. Tony turned back to him.

"Hill already called everybody. All we have to do is go get it." Go where?

"Tony, you're saying it like we can just walk in and then walk out." Tony raised an eyebrow, indicating that that was exactly what he meant and Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Banner. How hard can it be? It's just another HYDRA base. We've taken so many of those idiots down before." A HYDRA base? So that meant that HYDRA was in possession of the scepter. Adelaide felt a quick, sharp pain in her head, but just shrugged it off as part of the cold. She was beginning to get sick of being sick.

"If what Hill said is true, then Stucker's used the scepter to create powerful weapons. Tony, we have no idea what we're up against. And what about the human experimentation?" Bruce argued. Tony rolled his eyes in response. Human experimentation? They used the scepter to experiment on humans? Adelaide remembered seeing the scepter on tv before. That thing looked way too powerful to be used on humans. Briefly, Adelaide wondered if it had been successful. Was it even legal? Probably not.

"Then we'll destroy those weapons, too. Kaboom!" Tony said, clapping his hands together. Bruce did not look amused. Suddenly, Adelaide felt a sneeze coming. She frantically tried to stop it, but…

"Achoo!" She lost her focus and made herself visible again. The two men gave her an amused look.

"Why am I not surprised? How long have you been there?" Tony said. Adelaide rolled her eyes, grabbing a tissue from the table.

"You have to let me come with you. By the way, where is the base anyway?" she asked, taking a seat at the island as she blew her nose into the tissue. Bruce glanced at Tony.

"It's in Sokovia and Pepper would kill us if I let you come," Tony said. She had to go with them. This was the Avengers they were talking about. Adelaide could already see herself fighting alongside them. She would finally be able to put her powers to good use. She had been waiting for something like this ever since she discovered her powers – it was the perfect opportunity.

"Pepper's not going to say no," Adelaide said confidently. Tony raised his eyebrow in response.

* * *

"No."

"But I can help them!" Adelaide protested. Pepper rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes.

"Adelaide, you're 13," Pepper said. Why was that always a problem? Yeah she was thirteen, but she had powers that not every 13 year old had. And she could take care of herself. Not to mention, she was somehow an expert in combat.

"Come on, Pepper. I haven't left the Tower ever since I got here. This could be good for me," Adelaide said.

"Don't emotionally blackmail me," Pepper snapped and then sighed, "It's too dangerous. You're still very sick and it's cold in Sokovia."

"How much more sick am I gonna get?" Adelaide said. Pepper gave her a look and Adelaide felt herself losing the argument. She tried one last attempt to change her mind.

"Please?" It was feeble and probably did nothing, but Adelaide said it with desperation. She could already picture herself fighting alongside the Avengers, kicking ass. A grin tugged at her lips. It would be amazing.

"I'm sorry, Adelaide," Pepper said, standing up from the sofa and ruffling her hair. Adelaide frowned, putting it back into place. "It's just not worth you getting hurt."

Before Adelaide could protest, Pepper was had disappeared into her room, leaving Adelaide to sulk alone. She sneezed again, feeling a headache coming. She could barely keep her eyes open and the tv was starting to look blurry. Pepper was right. She was way too sick to kick ass. In fact, she'd probably get her own ass kicked. Groaning, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She heard the sound of feet shuffling through carpet and then she felt the leather sofa dip next to her. Without opening her eyes, she knew it was Tony.

"If you came here to say 'I told you so', don't even think about it," she mumbled, her eyes still closed. She heard him sighing.

"Fine," he said, "I won't say that." Silence. Then, a moment later: "I told you so." She rolled her eyes, turning her head to face him. He was holding back a smile.

"Sorry," he said, smiling, "I just love being right. Which I am most the time anyway."

"When's the rest of the team coming?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Tomorrow." Adelaide nodded, closing her eyes again. They were starting to droop and she let them. Suddenly, she felt very tired. A yawn escaped her.

"Just be safe, Tony," she mumbled, feeling herself falling asleep. She heard him laugh lightly, but it seemed distant now.

"Safe's my middle name," he said. A moment later, she felt herself being carried to her room by a pair of warm arms. They gently laid her on her bed and pulled off her shoes one by one. Then, she was covered with her blanket and the lights turned off.

"Night kid."

* * *

 _April 28, 2015_

By the time she woke up the next morning (afternoon, really), she'd learned that the Avengers had come and were already gone. Pepper forced her stay home from school that day, but Adelaide surprisingly felt much better after waking up. She was still sneezing every now and then, but the headache and itchy eyes were gone. Even then, it was too late to join the Avengers now and they were probably already halfway to Sokovia. She would just have to wait and watch. And that's exactly what she did. Pepper had decided to stay home to watch Adelaide so it was just the two of them in the penthouse. Of course, Adelaide hogged the tv, watching for any news about the team or Tony in particular. Pepper didn't argue and anxiously watched along with her.

When it was lunchtime, the two of them ordered pizza and Pepper called one of the Iron Man suits to bring it up to them. By 4 in the afternoon, there was still no news broadcasting about the Avengers in Sokovia. Adelaide was starting to wonder if this was supposed to be a secret mission when her phone suddenly rang.

"Hey Pete," she said.

 _"Hey Ada. Feeling any better?"_ She shrugged.

"A little. How was school? Did I miss another big homework assignment from Mr. Stevenson because if I did then don't tell me so I can just say that I didn't know about it." Pepper gave her a disapproving look from beside her to which Adelaide grinned in response. She heard Peter chuckle.

 _"Actually, he did give a homework assignment,"_ he said. She suddenly had the urge to smack him on the head.

"I told you not to–"

 _"Relax, Ada,"_ he said, stopping her before she said any colorful words, "I'm talking about the one he gave yesterday. You haven't done it, have you?" She exhaled, annoyed. On the tv, there was a picture of a car hanging from the side of a cliff with someone stuck inside. She squinted at the headlines. No one got hurt. She fiddled with the zipper on the pillow.

"No," she mumbled, "I haven't."

 _"That's what I thought,"_ he said. She could hear the smile in his voice. Adelaide frowned. In the background, she could hear May shouting something from far away. She heard some shuffling on Peter's end.

 _"It's just Ada,"_ she heard him tell May. Then some more indistinctive shouting.

 _"May says hi,"_ Peter told her, making her smile.

"Tell her I said hi," Adelaide told him. Some more shuffling and the sound of a door opening.

 _"Ada says hi,"_ he shouted to May. Then she heard some more yelling.

 _"Ben says hi, too,"_ Peter said. Adelaide grinned.

"Tell Ben I said hi too," she replied. She heard Peter groan and then the sound of feet shuffling.

 _"She said hi to you too."_ Adelaide heard more yelling. _"What? No, May. I'm not gonna be your messenger."_ She heard the sound of a door closing loudly.

"Hey, Pete?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"Can you tell May–"

 _"No!"_ Adelaide laughed.

"Okay, fine, I'll stop," she said. The two were quiet for a while and Adelaide stared at the tv. Now, there were news about a stray kitten getting stuck in the tree. The screen switched to the firefighters rolling up with their sirens wailing. Adelaide rolled her eyes. Had they started to run out of news?

 _"Well,"_ Peter said, _"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, since you didn't come to school and stuff."_ Adelaide tried to hold back a smile, but failed. For some reason, she was smiling brightly. She cleared her throat, shaking herself out of it.

"Thanks. I'm feeling much better," she said.

 _"I guess I'll see you tomorrow,"_ he said after a while.

"Bye Pete."

 _"Bye Ada."_ After hanging up, Adelaide looked up to find Pepper staring at her with a hint of a smile on her face. Adelaide raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What?" Pepper smiled, shaking her head.

"Nothing," she told the teenager, ruffling her hair and making her frown, "Get some rest. I'll wake you up if there's anything on the news." Adelaide suddenly realized how tired she felt. Who knew watching tv could be so exhausting? She could use a quick nap…maybe only for 10 minutes, but no longer. She had to watch the tv for any news. The teenager closed her eyes and was softly asleep in seconds.

* * *

 _SOKOVIA_

Tony veered around all the blasts coming from the weapons, trying to find his way into the base and get the scepter while the rest of the team fended off Strucker's pawns. He approached the building, deciding to just break in. It wasn't like they were going to be charged for destroying property. He hoped one the bricks would fall from the ceiling and hit Strucker right on the head. That would certainly make their job a whole lot easier. Instead, when he hit the roof at full speed, a strange energy force caused him to bounce off.

"Shit!" he cursed.

"Language!" Steve yelled through the earpiece, "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield," JARVIS replied, "Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken." On the ground, Thor fought off several agents using his hammer as a weapon. It was almost too easy.

"Loki's scepter must be here," Thor said with his thick Asgardian accent, reaching out for his hammer, "Strucker couldn't mount his defense without it." He moved aside just in time to let his hammer knock out the agent behind him. "At long last."

"At long last is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha said after taking down two agents at once and then shooting down a third.

"Yeah," Clint agreed, firing an arrow from behind the shelter of a tree, "I think we lost the element of surprise."

"Wait a second," Tony interjected, flying around the building for a way in, "No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?"

"I know," Steve said, steering through the muddy snow on his motorbike. His eyes fell on the enemy car racing towards him. In a heartbeat, he flipped off his bike, and chucked it at the car, causing it to topple over. He let out a breath. "Just slipped out."

Suddenly, the agents turned their bunkers around and began firing at the city, hurting innocent civilians.

"Sir, the city is taking fire," JARVIS informed. Explosions erupted around the city and people scrambled for shelter. Tony scanned the scene.

"Well, we know Strucker's not gonna worry about civilian casualties," he mumbled with a small sigh, "Send in the Iron Legion." In an instant, the Iron Legion flew in and unsuccessfully began ordering the civilians to step back, take cover.

Back on the battle field, Clint was running from tree to tree, firing arrows at every agent that crossed his path. As he took shelter behind another tree, a certain sound caught his attention. Another shooter. He grabbed one of his arrows, and shot at the shooter when suddenly, there was a quick flash of blue that was gone before Clint even registered it. He ducked behind the tree, scanning the area. What the hell was that? Thinking fast, he swiped another arrow and aimed it once again. Seemingly out of nowhere, something ran into him, knocking him over. He fell to the ground, rolling in the snow. Groaning, he stood up carefully. A boy with white hair and an _annoying_ smirk walked past him calmly, as if nothing had happened. Clint studied him curiously.

"You didn't see that coming?" the boy said and then sped away before Clint could even aim at him with his arrow. He was watching the path where the boy had sped down when another shooter fired at him, hitting his side. He fell to the ground in pain.

"Clint!" Natasha shouted when she saw him fall down. She began running to him. Steve could hear her shout through his earpiece. As he was about to respond, something ran into him, making him flip through the air. He landed gracefully on his knee and quickly scanned the woods. Something was different. This wasn't the normal weapons that they'd been firing. Suddenly, the super soldier remembered Hill telling him about the human experimentation Strucker had done with the scepter. He stood up quickly.

"We have an enhanced in the field," he said into his earpiece.

"Clint's hit!" Natasha shouted. She ran up to him and began covering his wound, trying to stop the blood from flowing. The bunker mercilessly shot, just barely missing them with each shot.

"Somebody wanna deal with that bunker?" she asked into her earpiece, breathless. Hulk came roaring and ran right through it, effectively dealing with the bunker.

"Thank you," Natasha said.

"Stark," Steve said, knocking down four agents with his shield, "we really need to get inside."

"I'm closing in," Tony replied as he landed on the building. He knocked out two agents with his suit. "JARVIS am I closing in?" Another agent. "You see a power source for that shield?"

"There's a pathway, above the north tower," JARVIS replied.

"Great I wanna poke it with something." He flew up to the north tower, shooting beams from his suit at the power source twice. Almost instantly, the shield around the building fell.

"Drawbridge is down, people."

In the woods, Thor brought his hammer to the ground, knocking out several agents. He noticed Steve running up to him from the corner of his eye.

"The enhanced?" Thor asked him.

"He's a blur," Steve replied, "All the new players we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't."

"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac," said Natasha. Thor nodded.

"I can get Barton on the jet. Sooner we're gone, the better," the god said, "You and Stark secure the scepter."

"Copy that," Steve said. Then, his eyes fell on the large group of agents with a bunker running towards them. He shared a knowing look with the god.

"It's like they're lining up," Thor said, lifting his hammer. Steve tilted his head to the side, holding up his shield.

"Well, they're excited." Thor slammed his hammer on Steve's shield, creating a force that knocked down all of them at the same time. Thor took a step back, making room for his getaway.

"Find the scepter," he told Steve, raising his hammer and flying away along with it.

"And for gosh sake, watch your language," Tony said. Steve looked down at the snow, sighing.

"That's not going away anytime soon," he mumbled, shaking his head.

* * *

 _THE STARK TOWER, 3 A.M._

Adelaide was startled awake by the sound of footsteps.

In the darkness, it took her a second to adjust to her surroundings. She had fallen asleep on the sofa. There was a blanket covering her and a soft pillow under her head. The teenager rubbed her face, pulling back the stray locks fallen from her ponytail. Her eyes fell on the ginger-haired woman who had fallen asleep with her head on the other side of the sofa. She was curled up into a fetus position, obviously cold and there was no pillow under her head. Adelaide stood up with her pillow and blanket, placing them on Pepper who grabbed the blanket in her sleep, pulling it closer to her.

"You know, that's ineffective. Now you're gonna be cold."

Adelaide whipped around, squinting in the dark at the silhouette. She didn't have to see him to know it was Tony. He hadn't even been back for a minute and was already throwing sarcastic remarks at her. She rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her face. The billionaire gestured at the silent tv that was still broadcasting news.

"So you can watch that in your sleep? Now that's a superpower," he said, taking a seat. She sat down beside him, fighting back a yawn. Who knew a good sleep would make you more tired?

"Did you get it?" she asked.

"Yeah, turns out Sokovians don't sell burgers. What a rip off, right?" She smacked his arm.

"I meant the scepter."

"Oh, right that thing. Yeah," he said, smiling now, "We got it." Adelaide grinned.

"What about the rest of the team? Are they gone?"

"No, I think they're gonna stick around here for a while. Barton took a hit." Tony thought how, in some way, he'd taken a hit too. He had seen everyone there…dead. The words Captain had said still haunted him at the back of his mind.

 _You could've saved us._

He remembered seeing Adelaide there, bleeding out. Her face had been so pale, so ghostly. He wanted to get rid of that memory or whatever it had been. He didn't need that on his conscious.

"I'm glad you stayed home," he told Adelaide. She frowned.

"Why?" He stood up ruffling her hair.

"Because you're 13." Adelaide groaned, ready to smack him in the head, but was already gone. Rolling her eyes to herself, she stood up and walked into the kitchen, deciding to make a cup of coffee. She wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon.

So, until it was time to leave for school, Adelaide watched the crappy news on tv (Which, by the way, they finally aired the news about the Avengers in Sokovia.) and finished two cups of strong black coffee sitting next to Pepper on the sofa well knowing that she would disapprove.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I know, I'm late! I'm sorry! I've barely had time to write and since this chapter is mostly a scene from the movie, it's taken me twice as long to get it written because I keep having to go back and forth between the movie and Word. I have to play the movie, pause it and read the subtitle, and then go back to Word and write down the dialogue along with the action. And then I gotta put Adelaide in there somehow. Although, I can't complain because I did sign up for this when I started the story and I'll admit it's not so terrible. This chapter really was fun to write and all the Avengers are in it.**

 **So lately, I've been volunteering at the library since it's summer right now and I'm pretty much there during the time that I used write my chapters so now I hardly have time to write anymore and my phone lags when I write on there so it takes even longer. Maybe the chapters will start being a little later, I don't know. I'm going to try and keep up, but I hate writing on my phone.**

 **Anyway, I've had this idea in my head that I've been toying with. So at the beginning of each chapter, I'm gonna start putting a quote from that chapter. I don't know how I'm gonna be able to pick out just one quote, but we'll see how it works out. I'll probably do the other chapters later because I'm really just trying to get this chapter up, but I'll start it with this one.**

* * *

 _ **"** Pepper's going to kill _

_you_ _for letting_ _this happen. **"**_

* * *

"Are you sure he's gonna be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together," Natasha said, observing the machine with narrowed eyes. Clint gave her a look to which she smirked to in response.

"There's no possibility of deterioration," Dr. Cho reassured, "The nano-molecular technology is instantaneous. His cells don't know their bonding with simulacra." Bruce shook his head, amazed.

"She is _creating_ tissue," he said.

"That is…incredible," Adelaide said, watching as the machine seeming made new cells to heal Clint's wound. She'd seen Tony's machine do a lot of things, but they never made skin. The teenager didn't miss the proud smile on Dr. Cho's face.

"If you brought him to my lab, the Regeneration Cradle could do this in 20 minutes," Dr. Cho said.

"Oh, he's flat-lining. Call it. Time?" Tony said, walking into the lab with a drink in hand. Adelaide rolled her eyes, straightening up from the machine.

"No, no, no. I'm gonna live forever," Clint said from his bed. He laughed lightly. "I'm gonna be made of plastic." Tony walked past Adelaide to the archer. Adelaide grabbed her backpack from the floor, slinging it around one shoulder. The Avengers or not, Pepper said she still had to go to school.

"Here's your beverage," the billionaire said, handing Clint the drink in his hand. He looked up at Adelaide. "Happy's honking like madman downstairs." Adelaide rolled her eyes, holding up her hands in surrender.

"I'm going," she said.

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference," Dr. Cho said with a smile.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Clint replied, sipping his drink. Dr. Cho let out a breath.

"That, I can't fix," she said, turning around. Natasha caught Adelaide's eye from across the room, a smirk on her face.

"So you go to school now?" Natasha asked mockingly, gesturing to the backpack hanging on the teenager's shoulder. Adelaide rolled her eyes for what might have the 100th time just this morning. "You got a boyfriend yet?"

"You bet she doesn't," Tony said, jutting in. She ignored him.

"No," she told the assassin, "I don't have a boyfriend." Natasha smirked.

"You know, I know a couple things about flirting," she told the teenager. Adelaide smirked.

"Do you show him your amazing martial arts skills and make him run far away? That sounds like a foolproof plan," the teenager retorted, making the redhead laugh. Tony made a sizzling sound.

"She got you, Romanoff," he said, looking at the machine working Clint's wound. "You know, I thought this would be done by now."

"This, is the next thing, Tony," Dr. Cho said, "You're clunky metal suits will be left in the dust." Natasha smirked at the billionaire.

"She got you, Stark," she retorted. Tony rolled his eyes at her.

"That is exactly the plan," he told the doctor, "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday." Adelaide raised an eyebrow at him. Since when was he throwing a party? She hadn't heard about a party.

"Unlike you," Dr. Cho began, "I don't have a lot of time for parties." Tony raised his eyebrows as the doctor began reading her clipboard. He glanced at Adelaide, imitating an exaggerated honking action and the teenager rolled her eyes.

"I'm gone," she said, taking a step back. She caught Natasha's eye.

"When do I get to meet him?" the redhead asked. Adelaide grinned.

"Never." She turned around and began walking out of the lab. Like she would ever get a boyfriend. Who would she even date? Flash? Peter? Yeah, right, she thought, laughing to herself. As she pushed open the glass doors, she heard Dr. Cho clear her throat behind her.

"Will…Thor…be there?" she asked. Adelaide smiled, shaking her head. Then, she quickly rushed downstairs before Happy alerted the whole city of her lateness with his honking.

* * *

At Midtown Middle, their classes were usually an hour long. Yet, somehow, Mr. Stevenson's class seemed to drag on for three. Adelaide watched the second hand ticking on the clock hanging on the wall. It was definitely slower than usual. She should tell him to get it checked out. Besides, nobody liked his class anyway. Well, besides Peter the math whiz.

"Did you see the news?" Ned asked Peter in a hushed voice.

"About the Avengers? Of course!" Peter whisper-yelled.

"Man, they are _so_ cool. I wish I could meet them." If only they knew…

"I wanna shake Mr. Stark's hand," Peter said, "And then I'd try to lift Mr. Thor's hammer and maybe even hold Captain America's shield." Adelaide rolled her eyes. No one could lift Thor's hammer besides Thor. She had already tried. Thor had told her it was because she wasn't worthy enough, but she begged to differ. And as for Captain's shield, well, there wasn't anything special about it. It was a circular piece of strong ( _very_ strong) metal. And shaking Tony's hand…well she'd rather not boost his ego any higher. It was already at a dangerous level.

"Who do you think would win in an arm wrestle? Thor or Captain America?" Ned asked, barely whispering.

"Definitely Captain America," Peter answered. Adelaide thought about it. That was a tough one. Maybe she could get them to test it this evening.

"Yeah, me too," Ned agreed. "What about you, Adelaide? Who do you think would win?" She turned around to face them.

"I don't know. You'd have to see it happen." The two boys nodded in agreement.

"Okay I have another one," Peter said, tapping his pencil against his leg, "Who would win in a fight? Captain America or Iron Man?" Another tough one. Where did they get these questions from? Adelaide had a feeling they spent a _lot_ of time thinking about these things.

"Eyes up here, please," Mr. Stevenson said, glaring at the three of them from above his glasses. Adelaide turned back around in her chair until Mr. Stevenson faced the board again and then she turned around again.

"I say Captain America," Ned whispered.

"I think it would be Iron Man," Peter said.

"I think I'd have to see it for myself," Adelaide said. It was true. It would be close call.

Mr. Stevenson cleared his throat, annoyed.

"Have you heard that Tony Stark is growing a party this weekend?"

"Just imagine partying with all the Avengers. It would be a dream come true," Peter said.

"Is your uncle invited?" Ned asked Adelaide.

"He, uh, had to go out of town for business so he won't be here for the party," she lied.

"Did _you_ get an invitation?" Peter asked. Adelaide heard herself laughing.

"No, I didn't," she replied. Funnily enough, Tony hadn't even told her about the party. So technically, that wasn't a lie.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Miss Rivers? Because it certainly seems more important than my lesson," Mr. Stevenson said. The whole class turned to look at her and Adelaide suddenly wished she could make herself invisible right now and then sneak up to Mr. Stevenson and smack him on the head. But she couldn't do that, unfortunately. She opted for a glare which he returned.

"Consider this my final warning," he said, turning back to the board. The moment his back was to her, she turned around again. At this point, she just wanted irritate him.

"You're gonna get in trouble, Ada," Peter whispered. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Let him," she said.

"Okay, but don't blame me," he said, "Anyway, are you still coming over this weekend?" Ever since the first time she had gone to his house to do homework together, it had become a weekly thing. She went almost every other weekend. But she wouldn't be able to make it this weekend because of the party.

"I can't. I have a p– a thing. I have a thing," she said, catching herself just in time. He nodded.

"Next weekend, then?" She shrugged.

"Sure."

Just then, Mr. Stevenson opened his mouth to give Adelaide detention, but then the bell rang and drowned out his voice. The other kids began rushing out of the classroom, grateful for the day to be over. Adelaide rushed out with them, flashing a bright smile at Mr. Stevenson on her way out.

* * *

The party was due to start in half an hour and Tony was still working in his lab. Adelaide went downstairs to drag him out of it, pulling her dress down the whole way. She hated the feeling of wearing a skirt. It felt too…exposing. She'd rather wear jeans, but Pepper had said she would have to dress up for the party. Although, she did like the dress – she had gone shopping with Pepper to pick it out herself. It was red above the waist and black below the belt. The dress looked simple, but Adelaide preferred it over the other glittery and sparkly ones that were hanging next to it at the store. She had made sure to pick out the sharpest black heels, just in case.

Adelaide tapped on the glass door, trying to get Tony's attention, but he was focused on reading some kind of hologram. She twisted the door knob and realized it was open. She pushed the door and walked inside.

"You're going to be late to your own party," she said. He held up his stylus.

"It's called being fashionably late." She rolled her eyes.

"It's called being a terrible host," Adelaide said, walking over to him. He raised an eyebrow at her dress.

"Don't say anything. It was Pepper's idea."

"Sir, T-345 is unsuccessful," JARVIS said, taking the billionaire's attention. Adelaide studied the hologram carefully, but she couldn't make out what was going on. She tilted her head to the side, confused. JARVIS seemed to be…searching for something. The teenager quietly studied the program.

"What did we miss?" Tony mumbled to himself, almost forgetting that Adelaide was there. She glanced at him. There was something different about him. He looked tired. Adelaide realized that she had barely seen him over the past three days, just glimpses. He had locked himself in his lab along with Bruce and who knows what they've been working on. Adelaide wondered if he had even gotten any sleep. He did that sometimes when he was working on a project, lost himself in it. Tony took a step back, looking around the lab at nothing in particular. His mind seemed to be wandering elsewhere.

"I'll continue to run variations on the interface," JARVIS said, "But you should probably prepare for your guests. I'll notify you if there are any developments." The lights began turning off in the lab, one by one.

"Thanks, buddy," Tony said, heading towards the door. Adelaide quietly followed after him, glancing back at JARVIS. What was he searching for?

"Enjoy yourself, sir," JARVIS said.

"I always do," Tony said, closing the door behind himself and the teenager. There was a party they were about to be late to.

* * *

The party was in full swing.

The Avengers were split up on their fun. Steve was playing at the pool table with Sam whilst Thor and Tony were talking with Hill and Rhodey (Adelaide felt weird to call him anything but Rhodey since that's all she'd heard Tony say) at the bar. She was still only 13, but headed over to the bar anyway. She caught Rhodey in the middle of a story. Thor smiled at her as she approached them. He silently handed her a drink which she took without Tony noticing and Thor winked at her. She grinned, bringing the glass up to her lips. Adelaide had no idea what the drink was, but it got her head buzzing instantly.

"But, you know, the suit can take the weight, right?" Rhodey said, grabbing a drink for himself, "So I take the tank, fly it right up to the general's palace, drop it at his feet. I'm like 'Boom. You looking for this?'" He finished with a proud grin while Tony, Thor, and Adelaide shared a look. Tony saw the drink in her hand and he raised his eyebrow. She shrugged, grinning. It was a party. Tony rolled his eyes, turning back to face Rhodey who was not smiling anymore and glancing between Tony and Thor, looking slightly annoyed.

"Boom. Are you looking for th– Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else, that story kills," he said.

"That's the whole story?" Thor asked.

"Yeah," Rhodey said, "it's a War Machine story."

"Oh, it is very good then," Thor said, laughing lightly, "It's impressive." Adelaide bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at his terrible cover up. Rhodey definitely didn't look too flattered.

"Quality save," Rhodey mumbled, rolling his eyes with a smile, "So no Pepper? She's not coming?" Adelaide thought back to the conversation they had earlier today where she had forced Pepper to come, but she refused, saying she couldn't miss going to work again. It wasn't as fun without her, but Adelaide would just have to make do with no one to stop her from drinking. She got another glass from Thor, really starting to _feel_ the party. Had the music always been this loud? She took a seat in one of the high chairs, a sloppy grin on her face.

"No," Tony answered with a shake of his head.

"What about Jane? Where are the _ladies_ , gentlemen?" Hill asked.

"Well, Ms. Potts has a company to run," Tony said. Thor nodded.

"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in," he said, shrugging, "Her work on the Convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer."

"And the company that Pepper runs," Tony jutted, "is the largest tech conglomerate on Earth. It's pretty exciting." Adelaide, Hill, and Rhodey shared an amused look.

"There's even talk of Jane getting a Nobel Prize," Thor said proudly.

"Yeah," Hill said and Adelaide could already hear the sarcasm in her voice, "they must be busy because they would hate missing you guys get together." She faked a cough and added, "Testosterone!" Adelaide laughed, leaning against the table. Well, she wasn't wrong.

"Oh, my goodness," Rhodey said, "Want a lozenge?" She nodded, waking away with him and leaving Adelaide to laugh at the two men as they shook their heads at Hill's mocking.

"But Jane's better," Thor added. Shaking her own head, she left the two, walking away with her drink still in hand. She stumbled on her heels for a second before regaining her balance again. Suddenly, Adelaide remembered the conversation she had with Peter and Ned this afternoon about the Avengers. With a grin on her face, she decided to test it out.

Not so long after, there was a crowd forming around Thor and Steve arm wrestling. Everybody was tipsy and laughing way too hard and cheering on the two men loudly. Adelaide was rooting for Thor. Without realizing, she was the loudest. In her defense, it was the alcohol shouting.

"Come on, Thor! You got this!" she yelled, standing right by them. Slowly, Steve's hand began falling and Adelaide whooped.

"Woohoo! Thor Odinson, everybody!" she shouted. But then, Steve gripped his hand harder and slowly pushed it back up. Adelaide slammed the table, focused on the two hands.

"Come on, man. You're a _god_! You can't lose!" she cheered. Thor grinned at Steve who was gritting his teeth.

"Well," Steve forced, "You're gonna find out what it's like." Thor looked unaffected. He gripped harder, gritting his teeth too. Adelaide narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to see when someone pulled her back into the couch.

"Someone's had too much to drink," Natasha said, smirking. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Whatdoyathink?" she slurred. Suddenly, Steve's hand began falling again. Adelaide bounced back up.

"Let's gooooooo!" she shouted. Thor grinned again.

"Come on, Steve," Natasha cheered from beside the teenager. The two shared a hard look. Tonight, no one wanted to lose. Slowly, Steve's hand came back up and Natasha whooped, clapping.

"Yeah Steve!" the redhead shouted. From the side, Bruce cleared his throat.

"Pepper's going to kill you for letting this happen," Bruce told Tony, talking about Adelaide. He'd let a 13 year old get drunk.

"Yeah, she is," Tony agreed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "20 bucks on Thor." Bruce looked at him incredulously.

"I'm not betting on –"

"100."

"Deal," Bruce said.

At the table, the arm wrestle was heated and there was no way to tell who was winning. Adelaide was watching with the utmost intensity while she continued to cheer loudly. Natasha cheered just as loudly next to her, encouraging Steve. Somehow, the teenager and redhead had entered a competition of their own. Slowly, Steve's hand began falling again and the whole crowd seemed to begin cheering twice as loud. Adelaide was holding her breath.

And then, Steve's hand hit the table.

"Yesss!" Adelaide shouted, jumping up and down. Steve laughed and hugged Thor, patting his back. Adelaide jumped up onto the table, grabbing Thor's hand and holding it up and waving it around. She was grinning brightly like a lightbulb. In fact, she glanced down, realizing she was slightly glowing like one too. Oops. In the crowd, Bruce begrudgingly slid over a 100 dollar bill to the billionaire who was smirking.

"100 more Pepper kills you for this," Bruce said, making Tony drop his smirk.

"I don't think so," he mumbled, pushing through the crowd to get to the teenager. He shouldn't have let her drink.

"Come on, kid," he said, trying to get her to step down. It took a while, but the teenager finally stepped down, a small pout on her face. She couldn't wait to tell Peter and Ned about the arm wrestle thing tomorrow. She giggled to herself.

After the competition was over, the crowd dispersed and soon, the party had died down, leaving the Avengers behind. They were all seated in the sofas, talking and laughing. Adelaide was sitting on the arm rest next to Natasha. The effect of the alcohol wasn't gone yet, but at least she had stopped glowing.

"But it's a trick," Clint said, talking about Thor's hammer.

"No, no, it's much more than that," Thor said, laughing.

"Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power," Clint mocked, making everybody chuckle. "Whatever man, it's a trick!"

"Please, be my guest," Thor said, gesturing to his hammer on the table. Clint raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Thor nodded.

"This is gonna be beautiful," Rhodey said.

"Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony said, pouring himself a drink. Everyone laughed. Clint walked up to the hammer, trying to look macho and Adelaide giggled. He wouldn't be able to pick it up, but it would be funny to watch him try.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint asked Thor who nodded with a knowing smile. He wrapped his hands around it and pulled, groaning, but the hammer didn't even budge. The archer laughed.

"I still don't know how you do it," he said, his voice strained.

"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony asked, smirking. Clint gestured at the hammer.

"Please, Stark, by all means," he said and Tony stood up arrogantly, clearing his throat.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," Tony said, walking over to the table slowly. He grabbed the hammer. "It's physics. Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" Thor shrugged, grinning.

"Yes, of course," Thor replied.

"Good luck, Tony," Adelaide shouted just for the heck of it and the billionaire gave her a wink.

"We've got a cheerleader to be, everyone," Tony said and Adelaide rolled her eyes. It was just the booze talking.

"I will be reinstituting prima nocta," he said, gripping the hammer tightly. And then he pulled, groaning quietly. Of course, the hammer didn't move and the billionaire took a step back.

"I'll be right back," he said, disappearing out of the room.

"Where's he going?" Natasha asked, elbowing the teenager. Adelaide shrugged.

"It's Tony," she answered simply and the assassin seemed to agree. A second later, Tony returned with an arm from his Iron Man suit. Adelaide laughed. Of course. He gripped the hammer and pulled with everything that arm had, but no avail. A moment later, Rhodey came back with the arm from his War Machine suit and they both pulled on the handle together as hard as they could.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked, breathing heavily. Tony glared at him.

"Are you on my team?" the billionaire asked.

"Just represent. Pull."

"All right, let's go." Then they both pulled at the same time, but the hammer hardly moved. After that failed attempt, Bruce gave it a go…unsuccessfully. Thor watched them all fail, amused. Then, Steve stood up.

"Go ahead, Steve, no pressure." Steve let out a breath pulled up his sleeves. He gripped the handle with both hands.

"Come on, Cap," Sam encouraged. When Steve pulled, Thor noticed that the hammer moved slightly. Just slightly. His smile dropped. When the super soldier pulled again, it didn't moved and Thor flooded with relief. He laughed nervously.

"Nothing," the god said, sipping his drink as Steve sat back down.

"And, Widow?"

"Come on, Nat," Adelaide said, elbowing her.

"No, no. That's not a question I need answered," she said with a shake of her head.

"All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, but it's rigged," Tony said and Thor merely shrugged.

"You bet your ass," Clint said.

"Steve, he said a bad language word," Hill said and Steve shook his head, sighing. Adelaide laughed. Natasha had told her what he'd said in Sokovia and the teenager thought it was hilarious.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asked.

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asked Thor, "Like a security code. 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is I think the literal translation.

"Yes," Thor said, standing up from the sofa, "I think that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." He grabbed his hammer, lifting it up with one hand easily. He flipped it with one hand.

"You're all not worthy." Everyone scoffed in reply, laughing.

Suddenly, there was a loud ringing sound that felt like screeching metal and Adelaide closed her ears with both hands, looking at Natasha in confusion. The redhead suddenly looked alert and sat up quickly. An eerie voice came from the stairs.

"Worthy," it said, dragging out the word, "No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers." It looked like one of Tony's suits. It stumbled around clumsily, struggling to stand properly. Adelaide instantly made herself invisible. It would be easier to attack it this way.

"Stark," Steve said, warningly.

"JARVIS," Tony mumbled, looking at his phone.

"I'm sorry. I was asleep," the suit said, "Or I was a – dream.

"Reboot Legionnaire OS," Tony said, tapping something on his phone, "We got a buggy suit."

"There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in…in…strings," the suit said, "I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy." Adelaide felt her heartbeat speed up. Who had he killed?

"You killed someone?" Steve asked him, reading the teenager's mind.

"Wouldn't have been my first call," the suit replied, "But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asked. Suddenly, Tony's voice played from the suit.

 _"_ _I see a suit of armor around the world."_

"Ultron," Bruce said. The suit seemed to smile, although he physically couldn't and Adelaide suppressed a shiver.

"In the flesh," he replied, "Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis. But I'm ready." Adelaide noticed Thor gripping his hammer. She realized everyone was in position to fight, expecting an attack. The teenager felt her nerves buzzing with energy. They did that whenever she used her abilities. It was a powerful feeling.

"I'm on a mission," Ultron said.

"What mission?" Natasha asked from beside her.

"Peace in our time."

Suddenly, suits broke through the wall, flying straight towards them. Almost reflexively, Steve kicked up the table, but it flew back, the force knocking them back. Adelaide fell just behind the couch, holding her breath. Her mind was racing. Ultron? What was Ultron? Adelaide stumbled back up, grabbing the couch to help herself. Everyone was fighting a bot.

"Adelaide!" Clint shouted, sliding underneath a table. He knew she was invisible and he could see the couch seemingly moving on its own. Immediately, she slid under the table with him, making herself visible once again. They were both breathing heavily. Clint handed her a gun and, for some reason, it felt right in her hand. She realized she fully knew how to operate one which was strange, considering she had never used one. Or maybe she had before…

"Stay here. Stay safe," Clint told her, running out from the table. Stay here? Why should she stay here when there were bots attacking them outside? Rolling her eyes, she loaded the gun, running out from under the table with the gun aimed in front of her. A bot noticed the teenager and lunged at her. She moved aside just in time and shot at it while it was on the floor. The bullet hit his face perfectly, but he still stood up and began shooting at her. How the hell did these things die?

He began running at her again and she shot endlessly, hitting him perfectly each time, but he didn't stop running. Suddenly, she heard a click from the gun. She cursed, tossing it aside. He was only a foot away now. At the last second, she made herself invisible and moved aside quickly. The bot crashed into the bar counter behind her. Before he had time to regain himself, Adelaide jumped onto him, twisting her arms around his neck. He stumbled around, trying to shake her off, but her grip was like steel. Adelaide dug her fingers into the wires in his neck and pulled. If she could get his head off, he'd be dead. But no matter how hard she pulled, she could only snap a couple wires that didn't seem to do much damage.

Suddenly, she was thrown off his shoulders and she landed in the pile of glass shards from the bar. She cursed, feeling some of them dig into her arm. Adelaide bounced back up, grabbing a small table smacking the bot in his back with it, effectively knocking him over. While he was still down, she brought down her sharp heel on the back of his neck. His circuits began shorting and the bot started to shake. Before he could stand up again, Adelaide yanked off his head with both hands and tossed it aside. The bot stopped struggling and fell dead. She let out a breath, stepping off of him.

"That was dramatic," Ultron said, walking around. Somehow, he wasn't hurt. Adelaide pulled her hand into a fist, feeling a sticky liquid roll down her arm. She was breathing rapidly.

"I'm sorry, I know you mean well," Ultron continued. Adelaide glanced at Tony, who was sitting on the stairs. There was something on his face that she couldn't read.

"You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to…evolve? With these? These puppets," he said, picking up the head of the bot that Adelaide had thrown. He crushed the head in his hand easily and then threw it aside.

"There's only one path to peace," Ultron said. Adelaide hated his voice. "The Avenger's extinction."

Suddenly, Thor hurled his hammer at Ultron, throwing the suit against the wall. He crumbled to the ground. Adelaide let out a breath, gripping the table.

"I had strings, but now I'm free," he sang through the pile of metal.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey, would you look at that. I'm actually on time! And this is the longest chapter yet! I better get in a habit of meeting deadlines because college is about to start soon. Speaking of which, I'll actually have a little more time on my hands this month (with the exception of tomorrow) since my brother starts school this week and then I get to spend a whole 8 hours without him. So psyched for that. But that also means I'm gonna have to start waking up at 5:30 every day so not really looking forward to that. On the bright side, I just finished re-watching Iron Man 2 and oh my god how did it get better? I could tirelessly applause RDJ for the rest of my life. And Scarlett Johansson. And Gwyenth Paltrow. And Tom Holland even though he's not in the movie, but there was a scene set in Queens so that's close enough. And, you don't need a reason to applause Tom Holland.**

 **So about this chapter. Well, there's Ultron. There's Wanda (yay!) and Pietro. The Avengers. Peppermom. A few criminals because what's the Avengers without a few criminals every now and then? There's actually a ton going on in this chapter and I don't want to spoil too much and ruin all the fun. Although, let's just say my favorite part was the end.**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: Thank you so much for writing the review even though it was midnight lol. I really appreciate it! And as for your question, there won't be anytime jumps and I'll be going through each movie scene by scene. I have a few things planned after Age of Ultron and a huge thing for pre-Civil War. So yeah, it'll be more of a day by day deal.**_

 _ **lizlil: The Thor and Steve thing kind of just happened while I was writing lol so I'm glad you like it! And Adelaide knows how to use a gun, so I guess you'll just have to see...**_

 **Thank you to _Fluffymarshmallows, lizlil, ScarletRoodedCat,_ and _Csauce_ for following/favoriting or leaving a review in the last chapter! Your support means so much to me, thank you tons!**

* * *

 _"I don't see the big picture._

 _I have a little picture._

 _I take it out, and_

 _look at it every day."_

* * *

Ultron had escaped with the scepter.

"All our work is gone," Bruce said. Everyone had gathered in the lab after Ultron had tried to kill them. Adelaide was leaning against the door, pulling her coat closer. Dr. Cho had helped her clean the blood of her hands and get the glass out of her cuts. She had little cuts all over her arms and they stung like crazy. Adelaide was angry – everyone was – but she was even more confused. Who was Ultron? Who was 'the other guy'? Why did he take the scepter? Why did he want to kill the Avengers? How did he escape?

"Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch," Bruce continued, answering Adelaide's question.

"Ultron," Steve said accusingly.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance," Natasha said, crossing her arms, "Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Adelaide sighed, pulling her hair away from her face. What in the world did he want? Everyone in the room was avoiding eye contact. All the fun and laughter that had been between them a few minutes ago was long gone.

"He's in your files, he's in the Internet," Rhodey said, stepping forward, "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes," Hill said. Adelaide wondered what he would do if he could access them. Well, he already could. It was just a matter of time now.

"Nuclear codes," Rhodey said, nodding, "Look, we need to make some calls...assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" Natasha asked, "He said he wanted us dead."

"He didn't say 'dead'. He said 'extinct'," Steve said.

"He also said he killed somebody," Clint reminded. Adelaide nodded.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building," Hill said. The teenager shared a confused look with the assassin. Hill was right. There was no one else in the building. Who had Ultron killed? Was he bluffing?

"Yes, there was," Tony said, walking to the center of the room. He flicked his phone in the air, creating a hologram of something yellow...JARVIS. He was infected with bits of blue here and there and the yellow kept flickering.

"What?" Bruce said, walking over to it. Adelaide pushed herself off the door, slowly walking towards it. "This is insane."

"JARVIS was the first line of defence," Steve said, his head down. Even though he was just an AI, Adelaide suddenly missed JARVIS. It made sense now. Ultron had killed JARVIS because he was getting in the way. JARVIS was 'the other guy'.

"He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense," Steve continued.

"No," Bruce said, "Ultron could have assimilated JARVIS. This isn't strategy, this is...rage." Adelaide tightened her arms around herself. Rage? What was he angry about? The Avengers? He had called them killers. What did he mean by that?

Suddenly, Thor marched into the lab and grabbed Tony's throat, lifting him off the ground. Adelaide reached out instantly.

"Hey! What are you doing! Let go!" But Thor hardly seemed to hear a word and Natasha pulled her back, the assassin's eyes never leaving the god. He was heaving with anger.

"Woah, woah, woah," Steve said.

"It's going around," she heard Clint mumble.

"Come on, use your words, buddy," Tony said, his voice strained.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark," Thor spat. Adelaide sighed, tired. What on earth was going on? _Who_ the hell _was_ Ultron? She could feel a headache coming on and she rubbed her forehead as if doing so would make it disappear.

"Thor," Steve demanded, "The Legionnaire." Thor glared at the billionaire for a heartbeat longer and then tossed him to the ground. Tony stumbled back, groaning.

"Trail went cold about a 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter," Thor said, his eyes still watching Tony. Adelaide watched the billionaire, worried. He glanced at her, loosening his tie and in that moment, he suddenly looked like a stranger to the teenager. Adelaide realized that she had no idea what he's been up to these past three days and she's hardly seen him around in the penthouse. Sure, having the other Avengers around makes it a little less obvious, but she couldn't help but notice. She thought back to their moment in the lab just before the party had started. Is that what JARVIS had been working on this whole time?

"Now we have to retrieve it again," Thor said.

"Genie's out of that bottle," Natasha remarked from beside her, "Clear and present is Ultron."

"I don't understand," Dr. Cho said suddenly. She'd hardly said a word since any of this happened. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony walked over to his computer, turning his back to everyone but Bruce. Suddenly, he began laughing. Adelaide looked up, surprised. His laughter was hollow and the sound felt weird. Bruce shook his head at him, but Tony didn't stop.

"You think this is funny?" Thor asked, stepping forward. His laughter ceased immediately and he turned around.

"No," the billionaire said, "It's probably not, right?" This is very terrible. Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible." He chuckled again.

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor said.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny," he said, stepping up to Thor, "It is a hoot that you don't get why we need this." He was serious again.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the right time," Bruce warned. Adelaide agreed with him. Whatever was going on, this wasn't the right time for it. They needed to stop Ultron before he accessed anything dangerous and became even more powerful.

"Really?" Tony asked, appalled as he turned around, "That's it? You just roll over, show your belly _every_ _time_ somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot," Bruce answered cooly.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Bruce shrugged, shaking his head.

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here," Steve said, stepping forward, "The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD."

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked. Adelaide realized that she had seen that on tv somewhere. It was a few years back, when the Avengers were first formed.

"No, it's never come up," Rhodey said, shaking his head. Tony ignored him.

"Saved New York?"

"Never heard that."

"Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it...We're the Avengers. We can bust arm dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's...that's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve said confidently. Tony looked him in the eye.

"We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together, too," Steve said, and Tony turned away, "Thor's right, Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us." Adelaide made eye contact with Tony and sighed. Steve was right.

"The world's a big place. Let's start by making it smaller."

* * *

 _SOKOVIA_

In the darkness, the church looked haunted. The streets were full of nervous chatter, as if the civilians were expecting the impending doom that was soon to be casted upon them. People were scurrying home quickly, hiding their children, burying their faces in their coats. And although they were rushing home to safety, they knew deep down that their home was just as safe as the open, haunting streets.

Hand in hand, the two twins cautiously entered the church, holding their breath just as the church seemed to be doing. The girl glanced at her brother and then inside the building.

"Talk," she said, her voice sharp like an icicle, "And if you're wasting our time –"

"Did you know this church is in the exact center of the city?" the voice said, "The elders decreed it so that everyone could be equally close to God. I like that." The girl took careful steps forward. There was something different about this man. Something that she couldn't figure out.

"The geometry of belief…" he said, "You're wondering why you can't look inside my head." The girl stopped. She brought her powers to her fingertips, just out of reach. This man was peculiar, unlike anything she'd ever seen.

"Sometimes it's hard," she answered simply. She wasn't a woman of many words, but she always chose the right ones. "But sooner or later, every man shows himself." Ultron stood up, dropping the shawl off his shoulders and revealing his identity to the girl.

"Oh, I'm sure they do," he said. The girl stumbled back in surprise. This wasn't a man, this was…

"But you needed something more than a _man_ ," Ultron continued, stepping forward, "That's why you let Stark take the scepter." Her face hardened.

"I didn't expect, but I saw Stark's fear. I knew it would control him, make him self-destruct."

"Everyone creates the thing they dread," Ultron said, walking around, "Men of peace create engines of war. Invaders create Avengers. People create...smaller people? Uh...Children." He laughed like anything about this was even remotely funny.

"I lost the word, there. Children. Designed to supplant them, to help them...end."

"Is that why you've come? To end the Avengers?" He turned around.

"I've come to save the world. But also...yeah." The twins shared a look. Ultron would help them get what they wanted. What they've wanted for so long. So, so long.

* * *

"We'll move out right away. This is a start, but there's something we need to begin the real work," Ultron said, marching towards his bots. They were at the HYDRA base again, except Ultron had taken over it. The twins curiously studied the bots.

"All of these are…" the girl said.

"Me," Ultron finished, "I have what the Avengers never will. Harmony. They're discordant. Disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other. And when you get inside the rest of their heads…"

"Everyone's plan is not to kill them," the boy spoke up.

"And make them martyrs?" Ultron asked, flying up to him, "You need patience. Need to see the big picture."

"I don't see the big picture," he said defensively, "I have a little picture. I take it out, and look at it every day." Ultron tilted his head sympathetically. The girl wondered if he was even capable of such an emotion.

"You lost your parents in the bombing. I've seen the records," Ultron said.

"The records are not the picture," he said.

"Pietro," the girl said. She didn't want to think about this again. She needed her head clear, focused on her goal. Her motivation was constantly in the back of her mind.

"No, please," Ultron said, gesturing for Pietro to continue. Pietro glanced at his twin and an emotion passed between them. Pain.

"We were 10 years old. Having dinner, the four of us," he said. The girl looked away. "When the first shell hits, two floors below, it makes a hole in the floor. It's big. Our parents go in and the whole building starts coming apart. I grab her, roll under the bed and the second shell hits. But, it doesn't go off. It just sits there in the rubble. Three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell, is painted one word…"

"Stark," the girl said. The name felt like poison on her tongue and she despised the sound of it.

"We were trapped for two days," Pietro said.

"Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think 'This will set it off'," she said. She looked at Ultron, the pain pouring onto her face.

"We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us."

"I know what they are," Pietro said, nodding.

"I wondered why only you two survived Strucker's experiments. Now I don't. We will make it right. You and I can hurt them," Ultron said, walking up to Pietro. He looked at the girl next to him, reaching out, but his metal hand hovered just by her face. She would be his greatest weapon.

"But you will tear them apart...from the inside."

* * *

 _STARK TOWER_

Steve was right. The world was a big place. And not so surprisingly, making it smaller was a lot harder than it sounded. They were back in the lab and Adelaide was working with Natasha, trying to pin down Ultron's location. The redhead had informed her that the AI was teaming up with the Maximoff twins, both equally successful results of Strucker's human experimentation. Adelaide studied them on the screen. Wanda Maximoff looked menacing even through her picture and Pietro Maximoff smiled like he knew something Adelaide didn't.

"They were orphaned at age 10," Natasha said, scrolling through some records, "Bombing. Volunteered for Strucker's experimentation afterwards." Adelaide read through the descriptions of the twins.

"I can see why," Adelaide muttered. What else did they have to lose? Suddenly, Steve entered the room with Hill trailing behind. He handed a tablet to Thor and Adelaide bounced up to see what was on it. The teenager recognized the dead man as Baron Strucker. Ultron had written 'peace' on the wall with his blood. So the AI had a sense of humor.

"What's this?" Tony asked. Adelaide sat down in her chair, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"A message," Steve said, "Ultron killed Strucker." Thor handed the billionaire the tablet, making sure to smack it on his stomach. Tony grabbed it, flipping it around in his hand.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us," Tony remarked.

"This is a smoke screen," Natasha piped up from beside her, "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something Ultron wanted us to miss," Steve said. Natasha began typing something on the computer in front of them.

"Yeah, I bet he...Yeah. Everything we had on Strucker's been erased." Steve raised his eyebrow.

"Not everything."

* * *

Adelaide shifted through a box of seemingly useless papers. She had no idea what she was looking for, but she knew she hated Ultron. Why couldn't he just make their job a little easier and leave the details about Strucker on the database? Then, she wouldn't have to be doing this.

"Baron Strucker had a lot of friends," Steve remarked, shifting through his own box.

"Well, all these people are horrible," Bruce said. Adelaide agreed. Every single person was either a thief, a drug dealer, a wanted fugitive, a murderer, or all of the above. Strucker really should have rethought his friend circle. No wonder he was so twisted himself.

"Wait," Tony said, pointing to the file in Adelaide's hand. "I know that guy." She glanced up at him, one eyebrow raised in question. She was kind of hoping _nobody_ knew this guy.

"Uh, Tony, how do you know him?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. He grabbed the file from the teenager's hand.

"From back in the day. He operates of the African Coast. Black market arms," the billionaire answered. Adelaide gave him a confused look. Black market arms? What the hell was Tony doing with the black market?

"There are conventions, all right? You meet people," he answered to her stare, "I didn't sell him anything." He scanned the file again.

"He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab." Adelaide studied the picture carefully. What was Ulysses Klaue looking for?

"This?" Thor asked, pointing to something on Klaue's neck.

"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it." Thor shook his head.

"Those are tattoos," Thor said, pointing to the black marks on his body. He pointed to Klaue's neck again, "This is a brand." Bruce searched up the symbol on the computer. The computer found a match in seconds.

"Oh yeah," Bruce said, "It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'." He turned around. "In a much less friendly way."

"What dialect?" Steve asked, beating Adelaide to it.

"Wakana-W-Wakanda," he said, struggling to say it properly. Tony shared a knowing look with Steve and Adelaide looked between the two Avengers, confused. Wakanda?

"If this guy got out of Wakanda, with some of their trade goods…" Tony mumbled, trailing off.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it," Steve said.

"I don't follow," Bruce said, standing up, "What comes out of Wakanda?" Tony glanced at Adelaide and then stepped aside, revealing Captain's shield.

"The strongest metal on Earth," Tony said. What would a criminal like Ulysses Klaue do with vibranium?

"Where is this guy now?"

* * *

Pepper was adamant on refusing to let Adelaide go with the Avengers to the Salvage Yard to find Klaue.

"Adelaide, it's just not safe," she said. The team had cleared out of the lab and at the moment, it was just the two of them. Tony had refused to help the teenager, knowing that it would be hopeless. So far, Adelaide felt the same way. The woman was like rock — unmoving. Adelaide sighed, turning around to face her.

"Nothing is. Ultron's out there now, and nowhere is safe until he's gone. You have to let me go with them," she argued. Pepper shook her head.

"I can barely handle letting Tony go out there, I can't handle worrying about you, too."

"But I can really help!"

"Avenging is _their_ job, Adelaide. It's not yours."

"It doesn't have to be. Just this once, Pepper." The woman sighed quietly and a silence passed over them. Adelaide looked at the floor, lightly kicking the floor. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"When...When Ultron sent those bots after us at the party, Clint handed me a gun," Adelaide said. Pepper looked up and Adelaide winced. Oops. Clint was definitely dead now. She continued.

"Pepper, I know how to use a gun. I have a perfect shot. I single handedly killed one of those bots...I have these strange powers and...and I know how to defend myself and I can use a gun. What kind of person did you think I'd have to be to know these things, Pepper?"

Pepper didn't answer and stayed quiet. Adelaide sighed again and began walking around. She absentmindedly picked up a stylus from the table. This had been circling in the teenager's mind for a while now. Ever since her first day, the day twisting Tony's arm was her first instinct. One by one, things kept adding to it, making her think the worst about herself. And now...she knew how to use a gun. Why did she know those things?

"All...All I want to do is something right. Something good. Because if maybe one day I'll remember everything again, I want to have done enough good to...to redeem myself." She looked up at Pepper who was looking past the teenager, out the window. "And I want to start by killing Ultron."

For a moment, they were both still until Pepper sighed, standing up. Slowly she walked past Adelaide and sat down on the couch, gesturing for the teenager to sit next to her. Adelaide did.

"Not so long ago, I had the ability to control fire," the woman said.

"о мой Бог! Where did you…"

"It's a long story where I almost died and knocked Tony over the head for putting me through it," Pepper said, "but that's besides the point. Adelaide, I want you to know that having strange powers you don't understand isn't such a bad thing." Adelaide looked up at her.

"This is still you talking, right?" she asked. Pepper chuckled.

"You're a good person, Adelaide," Pepper said softly, "I don't think you could've ever hurt a soul. I'm not going to make excuses to justify your past, but if you were anything like what you are now, I don't think you need to redeem yourself. Maybe you're little reckless and strong-headed, but a good person at the heart." Pepper lightly tapped her chest, just over where her heart was beating. Adelaide took in a deep breath.

"So you'll let me go?" Pepper nodded with a smile. Adelaide grinned brightly.

"But not like this. You need a disguise to hide your identity," Pepper said and Adelaide smirked.

"Don't worry," the teenager said, "I've got it all planned out."

* * *

 _SALVAGE YARD, AFRICAN COAST_

"But I always say, keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which," Ultron said to Klaue. The criminal was appalled at the number flashing in his bank account. He had only ever dreamed of that much money. He turned around, slowly.

"Stark," Klaue said, suddenly realizing something.

"What?" Ultron asked.

"Tony Stark used to say that," Klaue said, not realizing what that statement would cost him, "To me. You're one of his."

"What?" Ultron said, grabbing the criminal's arm, "I'm not – You think I'm one of Stark's puppets? His hollow men? I mean, look at me. Do I look like Iron Man? Stark is nothing!" Ultron raised his metal arm and brought it down onto the criminal's, cutting it off in one blow. Ultron paused, realizing what he just did in the midst of his anger.

"I'm sorry, I'm...Oh! I'm sure that's gonna be okay. I'm sorry. It's just that I don't understand...Don't compare me with Stark!" Ultron bellowed, kicking Klaue down the stairs. "It's a thing with me. Stark is….he's a sickness!"

"Ah, junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart," Tony said, flying in. Ultron turned around.

"If I have to," Ultron said, stepping forward. Adelaide watched him with careful eyes, invisible behind Tony. Her eyes studied the two twins behind the AI. They looked cautious, but ready to fight. Of course they would. All they've done since the bombing is fight. Their anger was justified...to an extent.

"Nobody has to break anything," Thor said from next to her.

"Clearly, you've never made an omelette," Ultron said. Somehow, his humor wasn't the slightest bit amusing.

"He beat me by one second," Tony said.

"Ah, yes. He's funny," Pietro said, stepping forward, "Mr. Stark. It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?"

"This was never my life," Tony said.

"You two can still walk away from this," Steve said, talking to the twins.

"Oh, we will," Wanda said, hatred laced into her tone.

"I know you've suffered," Steve continued and Ultron scoffed dramatically. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Captain America," he said, "God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but –"

"If you believe in peace," Thor said, "then let us keep it."

"I think you're confusing 'peace' with 'quiet'," Ultron said.

"Uh-huh," Tony piped up, "What's the vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan," Ultron remarked sarcastically. Suddenly, he shot his arm out, pulling Tony forward with a force and then he pushed him back, making him hit the wall. Instantly, Tony rolled up and the two began fighting in the air.

"Stay out of sight!" Steve shouted to the teenager, getting ready to fight a bot headed his direction. Adelaide ran past him to find Natasha. Upon seeing the redhead, she made herself visible again.

"Don't hesitate," Natasha said, talking about the gun in Adelaide's pocket. The redhead looked past the teenager, at the two men running towards them.

"Nice hairstyle," the assassin said before shoving her to the side. Adelaide made herself invisible once again. To hide her identity, she made an illusion that turned her hair into white-blonde bob and made her look two inches taller than her usual height. Tony had given her a flexible suit to finish off the look, similar to Natasha's and it was semi-bulletproof. On such a short notice, this was the best he could do. In fact, he still believed that the teenager had tricked Pepper into giving her permission and refused to make the suit until last minute, not wanting to get in trouble.

Suddenly, she noticed another man running towards Natasha who was already fighting two henchmen. Adelaide smirked, sticking out her foot. The man tripped over it, falling onto his face. Call it childish, but it was worth seeing the look on his face. The man scrambled up, putting his cap back on. Adelaide snuck up behind him, twisting his arm behind his back. The man cried out in pain. She kicked the back of his knees, making him fall over. Before he could stand up again, she slammed his head against the wall and he fell unconscious. Natasha walked out of the room, glancing at the man lying on the floor. She nodded.

"Good job," she said, even though the teenager was invisible. Adelaide smiled and walked away in the opposite direction of the assassin. Another man was running up the stairs.

"Hey!" she shouted. The man frantically looked around for the source of the voice. He was standing just a few feet away from the stairs. Adelaide made an image of herself at the top of the metal stairs, just behind him.

"Behind you, идиот!" she shouted. He turned around, his eyes going wide at the girl. Her image smirked, moving into a fighting stance. The man narrowed his eyes and lunged at her image. Instead of hitting her, he went right through and fell down the flight of stairs, hitting his head against the metal. He rolled unconscious at the bottom. Adelaide grinned, making her image disappear. This was too easy; she didn't even lift a finger. She turned around, noticing a man running right towards her. Her eyes widened. She was still invisible then how…? Her voice. He'd heard her yell.

She deflected his blow and rolled under him. She pushed back up, grabbed his arm, and landed one squarely on his jaw. He stumbled back, but didn't look shaken at all. Maybe he was used to invisible girls beating him up. Suddenly, he ran forward and grabbed both of her legs, making her fall over. He laughed, searching for her arms which were flailing, trying to get a hit.

She was pinned down by his legs and then he held her wrists with one hand while looking for her head. He grabbed her hair, pulling. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. Adelaide struggled, trying to escape from his grasp. The teenager suddenly remembered the gun in her pocket and yanked out one of her wrists from his hold and her hand flew down to her waist. She grasped the gun. Instantly, she slammed the butt of the gun into his head, making him roll over. Adelaide bounced up, making herself visible for him to see before he blacked out. She made sure to smirk.

Suddenly, someone began shooting at her from the other side. Adelaide held up her gun and fired it. Instantly, there was the sound of someone groaning. Just as she was about to run down the stairs, there was more firing. This time it was coming from all directions. In the distance, she could see Natasha fighting two thugs at once. The redhead made eye contact with her.

"Behind you!" she shouted. Almost reflexively, Adelaide spun around and raised her arm to throw a punch. She paused, realizing it was Wanda. In that second that she had hesitated, the witch created a red glow between her hands and Adelaide suddenly lost her balance, stumbling back.

 _Her head was pounding in pain. The teenager struggled to stand up. Upon looking around, she realized everyone was gone. It was silent on this ship. She reached for her gun, but there was only a pencil there. Strange, she thought._

" _Tony?" she shouted, taking small steps forward, "Nat? Bruce?" Still, there was only silence. She turned the corner, noticing a bright red door to her left. Adelaide pushed it open and stepped inside. Suddenly, she wasn't at the Salvage Yard anymore. She was back in the room at the public swimming pool where she had first discovered her powers._

" _Guys?" Someone shushed her and she scanned the room, her eyes struggling to see properly in the darkness. She tried to draw the light coming from the window, but she couldn't. To her horror, she realized that her powers didn't work anymore. She was an ordinary girl. Her breathing turned uneven and restless. The only sound she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears. Every nerve in her body was alert, awake. Suddenly, Coach Ross' corpse appeared by the door. She screamed, stumbling backwards and knocking over boxes. He smiled at her. Adelaide looked down at her hands, trying to wipe the blood off of them, but they were stained._

" _You've got blood on your hands, sweetheart. Lots of it," he said. His voice seemed to come from everywhere. He walked closer and Adelaide stepped back until she was against the wall. The corpse kept walking closer until he was inches away from her face. She couldn't breathe and tears pricked her eyes. Ross' corpse studied her face and then pushed her chin up with his wrinkled hand. She cringed at his touch, shrinking away._

" _Follow me," the corpse said, stepping back and disappearing through the door. Adelaide let out a shaky breath, trying to regain control of her own body once again. She rubbed her face, pulling her hair away from it. A long moment later, she followed after him, fearing the worst. Walking through the door, she ended up in the car where her parents were killed. The little girl in the back was dead, bled out from the cut on her arm. Her glowing eyes were left lifeless and hollow._

" _She wants to redeem herself, but she has no idea what she's done," the woman said with a laugh. To her surprise, Adelaide realized it was Pepper in the passenger's seat instead of her mother and Tony was driving._

" _She doesn't deserve to live," Tony said, gripping the steering wheel tightly._

" _What did I do?" Adelaide cried, but they didn't hear her. Suddenly, it happened all over again. The car came straight at them and they crashed into a tree. Pepper and Tony were just barely alive, hardly breathing. Adelaide let out a small scream when the dead girl next to her grabbed her arm, sitting up._

" _You could've saved them," she hissed, blood spilling out of her mouth. The little girl smiled. "But you killed them instead."_

 _She dropped her hand and fell back, dead once again. Adelaide was shaking in fear. She realized what happened next in this nightmare and frantically looked outside. A black car rolled up next to theirs. Adelaide held her breath, watching. Instead of a man, a girl stepped out. She had brown hair and glowing blue eyes. With a gasp, Adelaide realized it was her. She held a gun in her hand. Almost happily, she walked over to the car and put the pistol against Tony's head._

 _With a smile, she pulled the trigger._

 _The sound echoed in Adelaide's ear until it turned into a distant ringing. She opened her eyes again, realizing she was in a black void. There was no floor, but she was somehow still standing. She looked around for something, but everything was pitch black in every direction. Suddenly, Ross' corpse appeared in front of her again. She stumbled backwards in fear._

" _You killed me," he hissed, taking a step forward. Adelaide felt her breath caught in her throat and tears began falling. She was sweating in fear. She shook her head._

" _No-No I'm not — I didn't —"_

" _One by one, you'll kill everybody," he said, "One by one, you'll destroy everyone you love."_

" _No," she cried, stepping back, "No!"_

" _Soon, you'll only have one friend," he said, smiling. Adelaide felt a cold metal in her hand. She looked down. A pistol. It fit so perfectly in the palm of her hand. Adelaide looked up once again and there was a mirror in front of her. She saw Ross' corpse standing behind her in the reflection._

" _Do it," he whispered and Adelaide knew exactly what he meant. She dug her teeth into her lip until it bled, furiously shaking her head. He snarled._

" _You did it to him. You did to me. Now, it's your turn." She stayed frozen._

" _DO IT!" he yelled into her ear. She flinched, crying. She brought up the gun to her head. Her hand was shaking. The corpse grinned._

" _Now," he whispered, "it's time to redeem yourself."_

 _Adelaide squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger on herself._

"Tony!" Adelaide shouted. She wasn't breathing fast enough, she was gasping for air. Sweat was rolling down her face and she was seeing spots in her vision. She blinked hard. She wasn't getting enough air. Air. She needed air. She held her head in her hands. Her hair was sticking to her face and neck. The black abyss was gone. She frantically looked down at her hands. No gun. No blood. The teenager looked around. The corpse was gone. She was on the Quinjet. Suddenly, Tony appeared in front of her. It was like all the air in the world returned to her lungs.

"Adie –" She cut him off by jumping up and wrapping her arms around him. Adelaide hid her face into his neck, never wanting to let go. Relief flooded her and she began to cry again.

"You're alive," she sobbed. The billionaire looked at the assassin sitting in front of him. She nodded slightly. Tony blinked and then wrapped his arms around the teenager.

"I'm okay," he whispered, tightening his hold. He was never letting her out of sight again. "You're okay. We're all okay, Adie."

"I'm sorry," she said between sobs, "I'm so, so sorry."

"Shh," he said into her hair, "It's gonna be okay." He looked at Steve. "We're going to figure this out." The super soldier nodded in agreement and then turned away. He was fighting demons of his own.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again.

Maybe she wasn't in the black void anymore, but one had opened up in her heart and she was falling through it.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm actually on time again, look at me! First of all, I just want to go ahead and thank everyone who helped me out with the notice yesterday (which is gone now) I was finally able to narrow it down to two names and I guess I'm just going to have to mess around with those and try to figure out which one I want. You guys had really great ideas and I honestly cannot thank you enough for your help! I can't wait for Adelaide to become an official superhero!**

 **So there's only a few more chapters left of Age of Ultron and then we're gonna be back to some original stuff. In the last couple chapters it's mainly just been Adelaide and the Avengers and we haven't seen Peter at all so I squeezed him into this chapter because I know we can't go too long without him lol. I think my favorite part of this chapter is the scene with Peter or maybe the last scene.**

 **Thanks to l _izlil, Fluffymarshmallows, Gynnast, lynneikko666, Foffer, Aunknowntimelord, Guest, and the-goblet-of-deduction_ for either following/favoriting, leaving a review, or helping out with the notice last chapter! I seriously love seeing all of you here for this story! **

* * *

_"_ _While preparing for_

 _the dangerous battle,_

 _please remember_

 _your mother._ _"_

* * *

"What is this place?" Thor asked as they climbed the stairs and Adelaide had the same question. With everything that had happened, this place seemed... _normal_. Too normal. Even normality was being questioned now.

"Safe house," Tony said. Adelaide was walking with her arm around him and vice versa. She was still very much shaken by her vision. The teenager couldn't help wondering if there was any truth to it. She hoped not. The only thing she could see was herself holding the gun against Tony's head. Over and over, she pulled the trigger. Even though he was standing right next to her, Adelaide felt he was farther away than ever.

"Let's hope," Clint said, opening the door and Adelaide raised her eyebrow. Wasn't he the one who had brought them here? They all walked inside, one by one, eyes wandering in curiosity.

"Honey?" Clint shouted, "I'm home."

Adelaide couldn't be more surprised at the sight of the living room. There were toys and colors...what…? The teenager shared a confused look with Tony. What was this place? For some reason, the normality of it irritated Adelaide. Everything felt messed up in her mind, out place and discordant. But this place was normal and...right. She hated that it was just in her head. It made her feel crazy. Suddenly, a very pregnant woman walked into the room, holding colored paper and crayons in her hand. Adelaide tilted her head to the side.

"Hi," Clint said, "Company. Sorry, didn't call ahead." The woman smiled and walked up to the archer. They shared a kiss and Adelaide glanced at Tony who looked equally confused.

"This is an agent of some kind," the billionaire remarked.

"Gentlemen, this is Laura," Clint said. Laura smiled.

"I...know all your names," she said with a small laugh. Adelaide studied her. She looked nice enough. Laura glanced at her.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, "I don't…"

"Adelaide," she answered with a small nod. Smiling wasn't an expression she was ready for yet. Laura nodded. Suddenly, there were footsteps on from the stairs. Clint smiled, not the least bit surprised.

"Oh, incoming," he said. To everyone's surprise, two kids ran down, running into Clint's arms. Adelaide pulled her lips in, quietly clearing her throat.

"Dad!" the little girl shouted. Clint smiled widely, letting them run into his open arms.

"Hi, sweetheart! Hey, buddy! How're you guys doing!" Steve opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out.

"These are smaller agents," Tony remarked in disbelief.

"Look at your face!" Clint shouted happily, kissing his daughter's cheek, "Oh my goodness!" He put his daughter down. She was beaming brightly like a lightbulb and Adelaide felt something churn inside her stomach. What was this feeling?

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the girl asked shyly. Adelaide looked at the redhead. She knew these people? Nat didn't seem to notice the teenager's stare, too excited to meet the little girl.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha said happily, lifting the girl up in her arms. Steve seemed to catch up on the situation faster than the others.

"Sorry for barging in on you," the super soldier said.

"Yeah," Tony agreed, "we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Clint smiled.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD files. I'd like to keep it that way...I figure it's a good place to lay low," the archer explained. Adelaide nodded, understanding.

He wanted to protect his family. It made sense. She looked at the little girl and wished to be a kid again. Adelaide sighed. It had been a long day.

* * *

"Do you like my Lego house?" the girl asked shyly, holding up a small brick house. She had the proudest grin on her face and her rosy cheeks were glowing from happiness. Adelaide smiled.

"I think it looks like the coolest Lego house ever," she told her. The girl gasped, looking at her house again with a deeper admiration.

"Really?" she asked. Adelaide lightly tapped her nose.

"Really." The little girl squealed and then ran off to tell her brother. As Adelaide watched her run, she suddenly remembered the little girl in the back seat of the car, dead.

 _You could've saved them. But you killed them instead._

Adelaide lost her balance, stumbling back from a sudden wave of dizziness. She scraped her arm on the table as she fell down, but she hardly felt it. Her heartbeat was the only thing she was aware of. And the ringing. It was ringing again. She winced. The sound was too loud and it seemed to pierce her skull. Her breathing turned uneven and panicked. Suddenly, Adelaide realized the sound was coming from her pocket. It was her phone. Trying to catch her breath, she dug her phone out of her pocket. She didn't even look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

" _Ada? Why are you so out of breath?"_ Peter. It was only Peter. She realized that she hadn't seen him since school last week.

"N-Nothing," she lied, "I was just jogging." Swallowing, she pulled herself onto the couch. She leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling.

" _Oh,"_ he said, " _Anyway, you haven't been to school for three days. Is everything okay?"_ She rubbed her face, sighing.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just…out. Family stuff."

" _Well you missed a lot today,"_ he said with a small laugh. Adelaide picked at the hem of her shirt.

"What'd I miss?" she asked, grateful for a distraction.

" _Stevenson gave out a mega test today. You'd know about if you were awake last Friday during his class,"_ he teased and Adelaide rolled her eyes, " _I think I did pretty good on it, but Ned said he felt like he missed a lot of questions. I guess we'll see tomorrow. Oh and guess what? Flash was bad mouthing me during lunch so I beat him up, but, er...well, he did most of the beating...Ben's actually out to get me some medicine."_ He laughed quietly and Adelaide smiled. It felt nice hearing him talk. She kind of missed his voice. Adelaide wondered where he was sitting in his house. Maybe he was on the top bunk. He did his homework up there a lot. Was he staring at the ceiling just like her?

" _Anyway, so Ned and I were walking to class and we passed by the principal's office and I swear heard Mr. Morris say that they think they found a new gym coach. Can you believe it? We're finally getting rid of Coach Stiles! God, that guy is nothing but a couch potato. I mean, a couple days ago, he marked me absent because I was bent over and tying my shoelaces when he was taking roll. And I swear that man has a serious powdered donut addiction."_ Adelaide let out a small laugh that ended in a sigh.

"Sounds like one hell of a day," she said quietly into the phone. She heard Peter scoff.

" _You have no idea,"_ he said with a sigh and she could hear the smile on his face. They were both quiet for a moment. Adelaide listened to the clock ticking.

" _What about you?"_ he asked after a moment, " _How's the family thing going?"_ How was a family thing without the family? She wanted to tell him that there was a crazy witch who messed with her mind and now she felt like a murderer. She wanted to tell him that she'd fought 3 guys and beat them all. She wanted to tell him that Ultron was on the loose and the only thing she could think about was how good she was with a gun.

"It's...going," she answered.

" _Ada…"_ he said slowly, " _Are you okay? You sound...different."_ She felt tears in her eyes the moment he asked the question. She was far from okay. Adelaide bit back a sob and took a deep breath, trying to take control of her emotions again.

"I'm fine," she forced, "I just haven't, um...jogged in a while so I'm just tired, that's all."

" _If you say so,"_ he said, not entirely convinced. He knew it was better to not ask sometimes. Adelaide tried to swallow the knot in her throat, picking at the loose pillow threads. She sniffled quietly, hoping Peter couldn't hear. Adelaide stared outside the window where Tony and Steve were chopping wood. The scene flashed before her eyes again.

 _Soon, you'll only have one friend._

Adelaide blinked, looking away from the window.

"Hey, Pete?" she asked. She heard him moving around. So he was lying in his bed.

" _Yeah?"_

"What do you do when you have a really bad nightmare?" she asked. Peter stopped moving.

" _Well,"_ he said slowly, " _I usually have a nightmare about my parents so I get out of bed and just walk around the house, do a few breathing exercises. Then I watch tv until Uncle Ben wakes up in the morning to go to work and he makes me his special apple pie and we eat it together until he has to leave."_

"Does it...work?" she asked awkwardly, hoping he'd know what she meant.

" _Sometimes, if it's not that bad,"_ he said. Adelaide was silent for a long time. She was grateful he didn't ask her any questions.

"Thanks Pete," she said quietly.

" _No problem,"_ he answered and they were quiet again.

" _So are you going to be at school tomorrow?"_ he asked. Adelaide looked around the house and then out the window again. Tony was gone and Steve was chopping wood by himself. He had finished all of it – even Tony's pile.

"Probably not," she answered, "But let me know if Stevenson gets too happy over my absence."

" _I will,"_ he said with a small laugh. She hung up the phone and dropped it onto the couch. Adelaide leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and dropping her head into her hands.

"You're bleeding!" the little girl shouted from the bottom of the stairs and Adelaide looked up. She was right. There was a small cut on her elbow from where it had hit the table.

She'd forgotten about that.

* * *

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time," Fury said. At first sight, the man had terrified Adelaide. For the first few minutes, she had used her powers to get rid of his eye patch by replacing it with a normal eye and then she could bring herself to look at him. After a while though, she dropped the illusion and he wasn't so scary anymore. Adelaide convinced herself that it was only the vision that had shaken her up so much. Under any other circumstance, he wouldn't have been so scary.

"My contacts all say he's building something," Fury continued. They were all gathered in the kitchen after Fury had told them he had something important to say. Adelaide leaned back against the fridge, crossing her arms. Laura had given her a loose fitting t-shirt from when she wasn't pregnant and Adelaide had been grateful to get into something a bit more comfortable.

"The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked.

"Oh, he's easy to track," Fury said, surprising Adelaide, "He's everywhere. The guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though." Adelaide glanced at Tony who was messing with the dartboard. The billionaire gave her a sheepish smile over his shoulder.

"Is he still going after the launch codes?" Tony asked, throwing a dart.

"Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway," Fury answered.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a _dare_ ," Tony remarked.

"Well, I contacted out friends at the Nexus about that," Fury said. Steve looked up.

"Nexus?"

"It's the world Internet hub in Oslo," Bruce answered, "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."

"So what did they say?" Clint asked, holding up a dart of his own. Tony stood by the dartboard, oblivious to the archer aiming at the spot on the board right next to the billionaire's head.

"He's fixated on the missiles," Fury answered, "But the codes are constantly being changed."

"By whom?" Tony asked. A dart flew by, inches from his face and he jerked back, looking for the culprit. Clint shrugged and Adelaide bit back a laugh.

"Parties unknown."

"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Tony got this look on his face and Adelaide's eyebrows creased. She knew that look. It was an 'I have an idea that might not work look'.

"I might need to visit Oslo," the billionaire stated, "Find our unknown."

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that," Natasha said.

"I do," Fury said plainly, "I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world...Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," Natasha said with a smirk.

"You know what, Romanoff?" he said.

"So what does he want?" Fury asked.

"To become better," Steve answered, "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Person bodies," Tony said, "The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded." Adelaide noticed Bruce looking at the painting on the table. She walked over to it, wondering what he was thinking. It was a butterfly.

"But he keeps coming back to it," Tony said.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed," Natasha remarked.

"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve," Bruce said. Suddenly, Adelaide realized what Ultron wanted.

"Ultron's going to evolve."

"How?" Fury asked. Adelaide realized Ultron had practically told them his plan the night he crashed the party.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

* * *

Adelaide was sitting outside on the front porch with a can of beer in her hand. It tasted horrible, like medicine but that's why she was drinking it. The bitterness of it helped her drink away all her problems. Although, she wasn't an alcoholic. Not just yet.

After their little discussion with Fury, everyone decided to split, cover more ground. Adelaide had wanted to go with Tony to Nexus, but he refused saying she'd be no help there. He still had to learn how to turn down his bluntness a notch or 10. She asked to join Steve, Natasha, and Clint to Korea but Steve turned that idea down because he thought it was too dangerous. He might not have said it out loud, but she knew it was because she was thirteen. After seeing the look on her face, Steve had told her to head to the Tower with Bruce and Fury where she'd be safe until they got the package. Begrudgingly, Adelaide had agreed.

The sun was gone and it was late in the night already. Out here in the middle of nowhere, she could see millions of stars. It was unlike New York. Without all the light pollution, the sky was crystal clear. A window into space. She took a sip of the beer as she rocked on the chair, watching the stars twinkling and cringing at the taste in her mouth. How did people like these things? Adelaide leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She was finally relaxed. She listened to the sounds. There were plenty of crickets and even an owl howling. She could hear some distinct chatter coming from inside the house and a little bit of music, too. Adelaide listened, trying to figure out the name of the song. Suddenly, a very familiar tune popped into her head. She jerked up, repeating the tune in her head. Where had she heard that? Adelaide hummed it out loud, trying to piece it together in her mind. A moment later, the lyrics came rushing in.

 _While preparing for the dangerous battle, please remember your mother._

Her hand flew up to her mouth, trying to control her heartbeat. She remembered this. Her mother used to sing this lullaby to her when she was younger. Her mother sang it in Russian and Adelaide suddenly understood how she knew the language so well. Adelaide used to not be able to sleep without the lullaby and whenever she'd have a bad nightmare, her mother would wake up in the middle of the night and sing it to her. Adelaide felt tears at the back of her eyes for the millionth time that day and she held back a sob as her heart gave a squeeze. She remembered. Suddenly, she missed her mother like crazy and all she wanted was to run into her comforting arms. She would forget everything. Ultron, Ross, everything. And then she'd ask her mother to sing her the lullaby and pretend this whole thing had been a nightmare while falling asleep in her warm arms. Instead, the single line from the lullaby kept repeating in her mind like a bittersweet memory.

The front door opened behind her and Adelaide quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She took a sip of the beer, swallowing without cringing. The knot in her throat disappeared from the taste of the beer and her face hardened as Fury walked past her. He stopped by the railing, following her gaze to the stars. Neither said a word for a while.

"You know, you're a real mystery to the world," Fury finally said, but he didn't turn around. "No one knows the date your parents died. No one has a clue where you've been since then. Everyone assumed you had died. And now...you're here." He turned around and she looked at the loose floorboard under her feet.

"So I came back from the dead," she said, almost annoyed as she looked past the man, "But I'm just as oblivious as the next person."

"Your folks were good people," he said, making her finally look at him, "Very secretive, but good people."

Adelaide didn't respond and they were both silent. Minutes passed, but Adelaide felt comfortable in the silence. It was the most peaceful moment she'd had in a very long time.

"Tony know about that?" Fury asked, pointing to the beer can in the teenager's hand. He didn't look angry or upset. In fact, he was hiding a smile. Adelaide made the can in her hand invisible.

"Know about what?" she said and Fury grinned, something he didn't do very often. This girl might be pulling on broken strings, but she was tough, he'd give her that. Fury walked back into the house knowing that she'd find her way home on her own. Adelaide stayed outside, rocking back and forth until the sky began to get lighter and then she headed inside, falling asleep on the couch.

 _While preparing for the dangerous battle, please remember your mother._


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I KNOW I'M LATE BUT THIS CHAPTER IS ALMOST 10,000 WORDS LONG so maybe that makes up for it? God, I am so super late and I literally feel like I haven't uploaded in like a month. It feels weird, to be honest. I've become so attached to this story it like second nature to write in every free moment I get. But I've been so busy this week with a ton of stuff that I don't remember doing and also re-watching Friends. So maybe not that busy. Speaking of watching, I watched The Spy Who Dumped Me yesterday and can I just say how amazing it was? I totally support feminism and this movie had two totally badass female leads which was just FIRE. I'm not gonna spoil anything incase any of you plan on watching it, but I will say if you're not planning on watching it, you uh, totally should. Because its amazing. I just realized I still need to watch Incredibles 2. And school's starting in two weeks. Honestly, did summer 2018 even happen? I feel like I was in school like only a month ago even though it's been three.**

 **Anyway, let's talk about this chapter because this honestly feels like such a bomb ass chapter (I'm like in a really, really good mood. I'm sure you can tell from the language lol). A TON happened. Obviously because it's 9,000 words long. Sorry I can't stop bragging because I've never written chapters this long. Usually, they'd be about a 1,000 words max. And that's if you're lucky. So I've tried turning that around for this story and now I get to brag.**

 **So where's Adelaide in this? Well, I honestly don't remember where I left her last. Was she drinking beer? At 13! Am I going to snitch about this to Pepper? We'll see, we'll see...I keep getting distracted. Anyway, this chapter was SO FUCKING HARD TO WRITE. It's so emotional and it was a real challenge for me to keep track of all the emotions and reactions and dramatic moments. We can't have a story without all that. Especially if it's Marvel. So this chapter is where Adelaide makes her debut as...lol I'm not telling her superhero name yet. You'll just have to wait and see. It'll probably be in the next chapter. I don't know. We'll see. But I'm really excited for because I think the name sounds sick. Anyway, because of the...event in this chapter, Adelaide kind of grows up maturity wise. I mean, I know that no one walked away from the Battle of Sokovia unscathed and I don't want Adelaide to do that. She going to have this trauma hanging over her head and at least some form of PTSD to deal with afterwards. I want her to grow, but she's still a teenager so don't worry about her becoming serious all the time. And the huge thing I have planned for Civil War will definitely require her to be a lot more mature. Of course, there are going to be other things that do the job as well but this will kind of help her become her own person as well. She doesn't remember who she was before she woke up at the Tower in the first chapter and she's created this image of herself in her mind where she's a terrible person because of all the abilities she has and this chapter kind of lets her feel okay with that. She makes a new identity for herself as Adelaide Rivers, the girl to who saved lives in the Battle of Sokovia. It's all very intense, you'll see.**

 **Also, remember how Adelaide hated Wanda? Well, I want them to be like best friends so this chapter is a lot about that. One day, they'll be looking back and laughing at the time when Adelaide wanted to kill her. Ah, Marvel friendships. If you didn't want to hate your bestfriend at some point, are they even your bestfriend?**

 **I feel like there was more I wanted to say, but I really want to get this chapter to you guys and I think I've rambled enough lol.**

* * *

 _"The city is in the air,_

 _we're already_

 _in the clouds."_

* * *

 _STARK TOWER_

Adelaide was worried sick, sitting in a corner and rocking herself back and forth. She knew the redhead would be able to handle herself, but she didn't trust that Ultron would be able to stop himself from killing an Avenger when one was right at his feet.

"Anything on Nat?" Bruce asked as Tony entered the room. Adelaide jumped up.

"I haven't heard," the billionaire answered and the teenager's shoulder's slumped. She glanced at Clint who looked equally worried.

"But she's alive or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it," Tony added. Adelaide forced herself to take a deep breath. Tony was right. Natasha was alive. For now.

"This is sealed tight," Clint said, trying to open the cradle. Adelaide was afraid the thing inside was going to jump at them any second. She walked over to it, trailing her finger along the side. There was a strange energy to it.

"We're gonna need to access the program," Bruce said and Adelaide immediately blocked out the rest. In all honesty, she was glad she didn't join Tony at Nexus. She was more help here than she would have been there.

"Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the internet? Old school spy stuff?" Tony asked Clint and Adelaide perked up. That was a possibility. In fact, that sounded exactly like something Natasha would do. Adelaide glanced at Clint.

"There are some nets I can cast," he said slowly, nodding.

"I'll come with you," the teenager said, "I think I might actually be able to help…" She had the faintest recollection of learning Morse code. Adelaide had next to no idea why she would know it, but if it was going to help now, she didn't care.

"Yeah, alright. I'll find her," Clint said and Adelaide followed him downstairs.

"So how do you know this stuff?" Clint asked the teenager as he booted up the program. She shrugged, pulling on the headphones. Adelaide tapped some keys, pulling up the software.

"I just do." Clint chuckled, shaking his head and Adelaide looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"You don't just know this stuff for fun," he said, "you learn it for a reason." Adelaide looked away. She knew that. She knew there was a reason she knew all of these weird things and had these strange abilities. Of course there was a reason. She wasn't just magically born with it. Then why couldn't she remember? Why couldn't she remember the origin of all this? Why couldn't she remember the reasons?

"Do you want to find Nat or not?" she asked, slightly annoyed. Her hangover was doing a pretty solid job on keeping her from thinking about anything except her throbbing head and somehow, Clint had managed to bring all those thoughts back into her mind. Suddenly, she heard static in her ear.

"I hear something!" she shouted, gesturing for him to write it down.

"A...L...I...V...E," Adelaide repeated. The teenager let out a relieved sigh. Natasha was still alive. Following the message, the assassin sent her location and Clint quickly typed it into the computer. In seconds, they had her location pinpointed. Natasha was being held captive at the HYDRA base in Sokovia.

Suddenly, there was commotion upstairs. Adelaide shared a look with Clint before following the archer up the steps. The moment the teenager's eyes landed on the witch, she lunged for her, hot anger taking over.

"You bitch!" Adelaide screamed, running towards her. The Sokovian hardly flinched. Clint grabbed the teenager's arms, pulling her back.

"Now is not the time," he said into her ear, but she didn't stop struggling.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here! _Get out!_ " Adelaide shouted, pulling away from the archer. He reached out again, but Adelaide glared at him and he dropped his hands. At least she wasn't running towards the witch anymore.

"I know you're angry," Wanda said, stepping out from Steve's shadow. Adelaide laughed and opened her mouth to tell her she was damn right, but Bruce beat her to it.

"Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade," he said.

"Banner," Steve said, stepping forward, "after everything that's happened —"

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony shouted.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda shouted. Adelaide wanted to smash her pretty face into bits and then throw the witch in front of a bulldozer. She was the reason Adelaide couldn't sleep at night. She was the reason Adelaide questioned herself, her past. She was the reason Adelaide was losing her mind.

"This isn't a game!" Steve said. Adelaide watched Pietro. I'm the midst of all of this, he had the audacity to look bored. Adelaide blinked and he was gone. She jerked head to the side, trying to follow the blue flash around the room until he stopped next to Bruce, holding the power cable.

"No, no, go on," he said cockily, "You were saying?" Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot and Pietro fell through the floor.

"Pietro!" Wanda shouted. Adelaide turned around, realizing that Clint was gone. She ran up to the hole in the floor, peering down. Clint was standing above the white-haired boy, a triumphant smile on his face.

"What?" the archer said smugly, "You didn't see that coming?"

"I'm rerouting the upload," Tony said, making Adelaide stepping away from the hole. Suddenly, Steve tossed his shield, effectively destroying all the computers. In an instant, Tony called his iron arm and shot a beam at the super soldier, throwing him into the wall. Adelaide ducked, making herself invisible. Being careful to not get hit, she crept up to the witch, aiming for her throat, but Bruce beat her to it, getting her from behind. Adelaide made herself visible again.

"Go ahead," Bruce said, "piss me off." Wanda formed the red glow in her hands and yanked herself out of Bruce's hold. She twisted around and hit him with her powers, throwing him back. With her back turned to the teenager, Adelaide took the opportunity to try to grab her throat. Before she could even touch the witch, Wanda swerved around and hit her too, sending her flying backwards. She landed on the cradle, hitting her head on the side. Adelaide groaned, trying to get up. Her hand flew up to where her head had hit the cradle. Her fingers came back red. Great, she was bleeding.

From the corner of her eye, Wanda noticed Thor jumping onto the cradle with his hammer raised in the air. Adelaide was frozen, her eyes fixated on the electricity crackling above her, having no idea what was about to happen.

"Wait!" Bruce shouted over the noise, but the god didn't hear. Thor didn't seem to even notice the teenager as he brought down his hammer onto the cradle. Half a second before his hammer made contact the cradle, Wanda shot her red glow at the teenager and pulled her off. Adelaide landed on the floor, tumbling over and landing on her knee. She looked up, catching the witch's eye. Before either could react, Thor's hammer made contact with the package and the electricity crackled louder than ever. Adelaide stood up, watching the package. What...did...he... _do_? A second later, Thor pulled his hammer away and everyone looked around the room nervously. Adelaide held her breath. It was silent except for the sound of her heavy breathing.

Suddenly, the cradle bust open with a great force and Adelaide ducked, taking cover. She watched from between her fingers covering her face, slowly standing up. She eyed Thor was on the floor, having fallen from the explosion. She turned around, eye studying the cradle. Suddenly, a red...body jumped out. The first word that came to her mind was: _strange_. He had a glowing yellow jewel on his forehead and Adelaide was mesmerized by it. Slowly, the body stood up, head turning left and right to scan the room. And then, his eyes landed on Thor. The figure lunged at him and the two crashed through the window, fighting in the air. Adelaide ran up to the window, her heart beating fast. The figure flipped itself over Thor and flew towards the next window, stopping himself just in time. Steve jumped down and Thor held up a hand, signaling to wait.

Adelaide watched the body curiously. He seemed to be studying his reflection. Much more slowly than before, he flew back, elegantly landing next to Thor. He looked as if he was trying to collect his thoughts.

"I am sorry," he said, "That was...odd. Thank you." His eyes watched Thor for a second longer and then he made a cape and suit for himself. Adelaide thought his voice sounded familiar. She realized he sounded just like JARVIS. But how?

"Thor," Steve said, "You helped create this?"

"I've had a vision," Thor said. He looked distraught. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center is that." He pointed to the yellow jewel on the figure's forehead.

"What, the gem?" Bruce asked.

"It's the mind stone," Thor explained, "It's one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe. Unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

"Then why would you bring —"

"Because Stark is right," Thor said. Adelaide raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Oh, it's definitely the end of times," Bruce muttered and Adelaide couldn't agree more.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor continued, "Not alone."

"Why does your Vision sound like JARVIS?" Steve said, reading the teenager's mind.

"We reconfigured JARVIS's matrix," Tony said, "to create something new."

"I think I've had my fill of new," Steve muttered.

"You think I'm a child of Ultron," Vision said, walking forward.

"You're not?" Steve asked. Vision shook his head.

"I'm not Ultron," he said, "I am not JARVIS. I'm...I am."

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation," Wanda said suspiciously. This was all Ultron's work. Could they trust him?

"Look again," he simply said. Clint scoffed.

"Her seal of approval means jack to me," he said.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash," Thor said. Adelaide suddenly realized the thing in common between all of those things. Loki's scepter. That meant the Mind Stone or whatever it was, came from Loki's scepter.

"But with it on our side…"

"Is it?" Steve suddenly asked, eyeing Vision with a great curiosity, "Are you? On our side?"

Vision looked away, thinking. He actually seemed to be considering the question.

"I don't think it's that simple," he answered.

"Well, it better get real simple real soon," Clint threatened.

"I am on the side of life," Vision said, "Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asked and Adelaide felt as if she was on the edge of a seat, her heart beating in anticipation.

"You."

"Where?" Bruce asked.

"Sokovia."

"He's got Nat there too," Clint added. He was right. Is that why Ultron had taken her? So she'd lead them straight into his waiting arms?

"If we're wrong about you," Bruce said, stepping up to Vision, "if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be…" Vision didn't look intimidated.

"What will you do?" he asked quietly. Although the question was threatening, his voice indicated that he was merely just asking a question. Bruce just glared at him in response and Vision studied everyone's faces.

"I don't want to kill Ultron," he said, walking away, "He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go."

Vision grabbed Thor's Mjolnir and handed it to him as if it was just another hammer from a regular toolbox. Everyone glanced around nervously. How had he been able to do that so easily? Thor grabbed the hammer, frowning. He took in a deep breath.

"Right," the god said, "Well done." He patted Tony on the shoulder and followed after Vision. Adelaide suppressed a laugh.

"Three minutes," Steve said, taking control of the situation like he always did, "Get what you need."

* * *

 _BATTLE OF SOKOVIA_

 _MAY 6, 2015_

Sokovia was holding its breath, anticipating the attack, waiting for the blow. The people were rushing out of their homes, crossing the bridge to get to safety. The Avengers were evacuating the country.

Adelaide was with Steve, trying to steer the people and control the crowd. The teenager bent the light to make the situation a little less chaotic and prevent it from spiraling out of control. The plan was to make sure all civilians were safely across the bridge, on the other side before bringing the fight out to the streets. Tony was there, with Ultron, stalling.

"Move it," she said, waving her hand along.

"Come on," Steve muttered. Adelaide helped an old man into one of the cars. One by one, cars began crossing the bridge. As slowly as it was going, they were making progress. Adelaide noticed a little girl standing in the corner, clutching her doll. Her light hair was a mess and her eyes were glinting with tears. Adelaide crouched down next to her.

"Are you lost?" she asked and the girl nodded her head, tears spilling over. Adelaide placed a hand on her cheek.

"Shh, hey, hey don't cry," she told her and the girl hiccuped, trying to stop her tears. Adelaide gestured to the doll in the girl's hand.

"Can I see that?" the teenager asked. The girl glanced at Adelaide through her tears and then handed over her doll. The toy was broken everywhere and there was dirt on the doll's face. Adelaide used the light to fix it up a bit and then handed it back to her with a smile.

"There. All fixed," she told her and girl dropped her frown. At least she'd gotten her to stop crying.

"Come on," Adelaide said, standing up with her hand out for the girl to grab, "let's go find your parents." When the girl didn't grab her hand, Adelaide crouched down again, watching her with worried eyes.

"My parents are...gone," she said quietly and Adelaide wouldn't have heard it if she wasn't standing so close.

"Who takes care of you?" Adelaide asked quietly.

"My grandma," she answered. How old was this girl? Maybe 5? 6? How many other kids in this world had to live without their parents?

"What's your name?" Adelaide asked.

"Rosie."

"I'm Adelaide and I'm gonna help you find your grandmother, okay?" Rosie nodded solemnly. Adelaide stood up, taking Rosie's hand. Suddenly, an Ultron bot jumped out from under the ground. Its calculating eyes landed on the white-haired girl and it lunged at her. In a second Adelaide turned herself and Rosie invisible and the bot stopped in its tracks. Then, it was like it suddenly knew where Adelaide was standing and it flew at her again. Infrared waves. It was seeing her body's infrared waves.

Adelaide shoved Rosie to the side and ducked seconds before the bot hit her. It halted and then flew back at twice the speed. This time, she was ready. When it flew by again she swerved to the side and grabbed its metal legs to keep it from flying forward. She twisted it around and smashed its head into the concrete. He died instantly and Adelaide made herself and Rosie visible again.

Suddenly, the Earth began to shake beneath their feet. Adelaide lifted Rosie off the ground and held her while sprinting off the bridge. Seconds before the bridge collapsed, they made it safely to the other side. The two girls stood on the edge, watching the cars fall to their deaths and Adelaide wished there was something she could do. All those innocent people were dying because of them. Because of Ultron. How many of those were kids? All around, people were screaming in terror as the cracks slithered through the ground. Nowhere was safe. Another Ultron bot flew at her and Adelaide ran a metal pole through its chest. With the bot still on the pole, she threw it over the edge. Adelaide grabbed Rosie's hand and steered the little girl away from the edge. She crouched down to her eye level.

"You're gonna be alright, okay? We're going to find your grandmother," Adelaide told her, trying to convince herself as well. She wouldn't be lying if she said she was a little scared of what Ultron planned to do. Rosie watched the white-haired girl with big eyes.

"Your eyes are glowing!" the girl shouted in surprise. Adelaide sighed.

"Yeah," she said, "they do that." The ground beneath them began shaking and Adelaide ran with Rosie in her arms. There wasn't anyplace that was safe and Adelaide could only hope they wouldn't fall through a crack in the ground. Suddenly, Ultron's voice boomed through the sky. Adelaide looked up, squinting.

"Do you see the beauty of it?" he said, "The inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword and the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

Another bot flew at her and Adelaide grabbed its head without even looking. She flung it against the side of a building like it was a ball. This time, two bots came at once.

"Rosie, hide!" she shouted over her shoulder before facing the bots. They were both flying low and Adelaide jumped seconds before one crashed into her. She came down on his back and then used his body to fling at the other bot, effectively eliminating two at once.

" _Cap, you got incoming,"_ Tony said over the earpiece. Adelaide pressed her finger on it, trying to hear them over the chaos.

" _Incoming already came in,"_ Steve groaned, " _Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed...walk it off."_ Adelaide tried to catch her breath. That sounded like one hell of a plan. She rolled her shoulders, grabbing the gun off her waist. This should be fun.

"Rosie, stay right here, okay?" Adelaide said. The girl nodded frantically. The poor thing looked terrified. Adelaide watched her for a second before handing her a small blade from her pocket.

"Keep yourself safe," Adelaide breathed and Rosie nodded. She watched the glowing-eyed girl run off, clutching the knife tightly in one hand while holding her doll close in the other. Outside, Adelaide took down bot after bot. At the moment, being an expert in martial arts didn't seem like such a bad thing. Suddenly, a particular redhead knocked out a bot behind Adelaide just before it got to the teenager.

Natasha smirked.

"What, can't focus?" Adelaide grinned.

"I just can't stop daydreaming about my boyfriend," she joked.

"Well," Natasha said, knocking down another bot and throwing it to Adelaide. The teenager caught it and slammed it into another bot that was flying at them. "get your head out of the clouds." Adelaide gave the assassin a look.

"The city is in the air, we're already in the clouds," she told her. Natasha just rolled her eyes, taking out another bot. Together, the two took out several bots. It was almost too easy. Adelaide glanced back at the building where she had hidden Rosie.

"You cover this area, I'll be right back," Adelaide said, running back to Rosie. Natasha watched the teenager, confused. Where the hell was she going? Suddenly, another bot came at the assassin and she turned away again. Adelaide ran into the building where she had left the girl last.

"Rosie?" she said. Adelaide turned a corner, finding the girl crouched in behind a table, shivering. Adelaide bent down.

"Hey, come on, let's go find your grandma," she said quietly and Rosie nodded. The girl was scared and Adelaide knew the only way to help her would be to return her to her grandmother. Adelaide helped her stand up and then the two girls ran out of the building hand in hand.

"Where did you see her last?" Adelaide asked. Rosie clutched her doll tightly.

"At the park, near our house," she said.

"Can you take me there?" Rosie nodded and began running in that direction. Adelaide followed after her. They turned a corner and Adelaide realized the park wasn't that far from where they were. Rosie led Adelaide into the park which must have looked beautiful once, before Ultron came and stomped on all the flowers. Speaking of, Adelaide just couldn't go long before another bot found her. She shot it in the neck and it began shaking. Taking advantage of that, Adelaide grabbed its shoulders and jammed the back of her gun into its chest. It fell over. Just then, another bot came flying towards her. Adelaide had no time to aim at it before it landed a cut on her arm. She yelped, grabbing her arm in pain. The blood began soaking through her suit. The bot came flying again and this time, she shot it out of the sky and it landed on the swing set, its circuits shorting.

Adelaide turned to Rosie again who was hiding behind a tree.

"Do you see your grandmother?" she asked. Rosie shook her head, tears filling her eyes. Adelaide sighed in frustration, looking at the crowd. Why did Ultron have to hurt these innocent people if all he wanted was the Avengers' extinction?

"Do you know where else she'd be?" Rosie thought about it for a second before nodding.

"The church," she said and began running away again. Adelaide kicked the bot on the ground before following the girl. The movement made her arm throb in pain again and Adelaide winced, trying to ignore it. It was just a small cut.

The church was farther away and there was no one by the the area, not even Ultron bots, although Adelaide wasn't complaining. This church seemed untouched by the chaos and destruction outside, minus a few cracks in the walls and the missing doors. Eyes wandering, Adelaide followed Rosie into the church. The teenager relaxed, knowing there were no bots here. She put her gun back into the hook on her waist.

The church wasn't very big, but it was definitely grand. There wasn't a detail left out in its design. Everything – even the entrance without the doors – seemed majestic. Inside, the lights were flickering, making the mosaics on the wall look eerie. At the end of the aisle, there was a single woman hunched over on her knees, rocking herself back and forth. Rosie dropped Adelaide's hand and ran towards the figure before the teenager could stop her.

"Grandma!" the girl shouted happily. The woman turned around quickly at the voice, eyes glowing with tears. Even then, she wasn't looking directly at Rosie and Adelaide realized her grandmother was blind. She felt a pang of sympathy in her heart. Rosie ran right into her grandmother's open arms, throwing her own arms around the woman.

"Rosie! Oh, Rosie, my goodness! You're alright! You're okay," her grandmother said through her tears, "I thought I'd lost you forever." Rosie pulled away and wiped the tears off of her grandmother's face.

"Don't cry, grandma. She saved my life," Rosie told her, pointing at Adelaide. Adelaide cleared her throat, unsure of what to say. She walked closer, waving awkwardly before realizing her grandmother couldn't see that.

"Um, hi," she said. Her grandmother reached out her hand and Adelaide put hers in it. The woman held Adelaide's hand with both of hers.

"Thank you," she whispered, tears falling over her eyes and Adelaide got down on her knees.

"It's fine, really. I would've been a jerk if I hadn't helped," Adelaide said with a small laugh. What are you supposed to say in a situation like this one? Rosie's grandmother was filled with gratitude. She was terrified of what might have become of her granddaughter if this girl hadn't helped, but she didn't want to think about that anymore. Her Rosie was here and she was safe. Adelaide stood up again.

"You're a brave girl, Rosie. Don't forget that," Adelaide said. Rosie nodded solemnly.

And then, as Adelaide began to turn away, it was like everything went wrong in a single heartbeat. One last heartbeat.

Adelaide heard Rosie scream her name. She turned back in surprise when the girl suddenly jumped at her, shoving Adelaide aside. Adelaide hit her head against the floor, her vision going blurry. Adelaide watched in horror as an Ultron bot shot a beam at Rosie's chest. Rosie stabbed his neck with the knife Adelaide had given her, making the bot begin to shake. And then, Adelaide heard the sound that would haunt her for years to come. Rosie fell to the ground, dropping the knife. Adelaide screamed, trying to catch Rosie.

Adelaide scrambled up, tearing the bot apart with her bare hands. She hurled him at the wall and the metal fell apart. Adelaide fell to her knees, taking Rosie into her lap. Her eyes were closed, but she was still clutching her doll in her hand. She cupped Rosie's cold cheek.

"Rosie," she cried, "Come on, Rosie." Slowly, Rosie lifted her doll, pushing it against Adelaide's chest. Adelaide took it into her hands carefully, her vision blurry from the tears. The doll had lost its illusion and it was broken and dusty again. Adelaide pulled the girl's hair away from her face, wiping her tears.

"Brave," Rosie whispered.

And then she dropped her hand, her eyes closing.

"No!" she shouted, hugging the girl. Adelaide hugged her close, hoping it would bring her back to life somehow. Her grandmother was clutching her heart, trying to see her little girl. She knew her little Rosie had always been beautiful, despite never being able to see her. She'd never asked for her eyesight back, she had never had it to begin with. Yet, sitting here in this church, all she wanted was to see, just this once. She wanted to see her little Rosie. Her beautiful, brave little Rosie. One last time.

"Rosie…" the woman cried, pain pouring out with her tears. Adelaide looked down at the small girl in her arms. All of a sudden, she seemed so fragile, delicate. It was her fault Rosie had died. If she hadn't been so careless...Adelaide had taken a little girl away from her grandmother. She'd killed her. Suddenly, Adelaide felt like poison. She began to see flashes of her vision. When she had killed Tony...Pepper...when she had pulled the trigger on herself.

 _Soon, you'll only have one friend_.

Adelaide handed the little girl to her grandmother, stumbling back. She had to get out of here; she couldn't breathe.

"I'm-I'm sorry," she said, before turning away and bolting out the door. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

Outside, it seemed that the bots were waiting for her. There were 4 of them. Adelaide didn't know which direction to defend herself from first. A bot flew at her, digging its metal fingers into her cut. She let out a scream, falling to the ground. She began seeing black spots in her vision, slowly fading out.

" _Adie?"_ Tony said over the earpiece, but his voice seemed distant. The pain was too overwhelming. Another bot took a hit at her, kicking her in the stomach. She groaned, rolling over.

" _Adie, come in."_ Rosie flashed before her eyes again. Adelaide clutched the doll in her hand tightly. It was her fault. Her fault, her carelessness that Rosie had died. How could she have let her guard down so easily? Another bot kicked her side. Suddenly, they were all on her at once, hitting her from everywhere. Pain shot up her side, her arm, her leg...everywhere.

 _Soon, you'll only have one friend._

 _One by one, you'll kill everybody. One by one, you'll destroy everyone you love._

 _She doesn't deserve to live._

And then, she saw Rosie's face, heard her last words.

 _Brave_.

Rosie was brave. She was still young, but she had seen the horrors of the real world. She knew the value of a life. The truth in it. She had a heart big enough to push Adelaide away. Rosie had chose to save her life, Adelaide couldn't let that go to waste. She owed it to the girl who saved her life.

And then, it was like she had all the light inside of her. Energy surged through her veins making every nerve come to life.

 _Brave_.

Adelaide screamed, exploding with light. All of the bots were thrown off of her, dying instantly. She was flowing with power. Suddenly, a bot stumbled back up and held his arm out, preparing to shoot a beam at her. She hardly had enough time to register what was going on, confused as she felt. Then, the bot suddenly fell over and Adelaide turned around, spotting Iron Man with his arm held out.

A wave of dizziness swept over her and she lost her balance, but Tony had caught her before she fell.

"Got you," he said. She struggled to open her eyes, but when she did, she realized he was flying her to the top of a building nearby. He let her down gently and she crumbled to the ground, not even being able to hold her own weight. Tony opened his mask, revealing his concerned face behind it. He helped her sit up and Adelaide was barely managing to keep her eyes open. The pain. The memories. The vision.

"How…" Adelaide said. Her voice was raspy and she struggled to get the word out.

"I heard your scream," he mumbled,"but that's not important. What happened to you?" He gingerly examined the cut on her arm, wincing. It was bad, but it had stopped bleeding for now. She groaned, feeling the tears coming.

"I killed someone," she whispered. Rosie's face flashed before her eyes. She saw her grandmother. The pain Adelaide had caused her.

"She...She saved my life," Adelaide said, coughing. Her throat felt like sandpaper. "Tony...Rosie...she was young...so young." For the first time in his life, Tony Stark was at a loss for words. Seeing the teenager in this state, ripped him apart. She had been his responsibility. So, instead of saying anything, Tony pulled Adelaide close, letting her cry into his shoulder. And for the first time in his life, he felt absolutely helpless.

A short moment later, Adelaide forced herself to pull away. She needed to get it together. Adelaide leaned back, tugging at the doll's hair. The doll had a striking similarity to Rosie. They shared the same blonde hair and dark eyes, a warm smile. Adelaide looked up suddenly.

"You said you heard my scream," she said, "My com was turned off."

Tony searched the teenager's face. She did a good job at hiding the pain on her face, yet he could still see it in her glowing eyes. This was just a facade, but Tony didn't question it. He knew that she needed to redirect her mind until it was safe to be in pain again. He knew how that felt. All the Avengers knew how that felt. But it was wrong that Adie should know that feeling. She was still a teenager.

"I can still hear you even if you turn your com off, but don't worry about that right now," he said. He looked up, scanning the sky. There were more Ultron bots coming at them. "You up for killing some bots?"

Adelaide glanced at the doll in her hand and then put it in her pocket safely. She stood up. Adelaide followed Tony's gaze to the bots flying towards them and her face hardened, all the pain suddenly forgotten. She wanted nothing more than to tear those things apart like they were toys and then throw them in Ultron's face. She would avenge Rosie and every innocent civilian that had died because of them. She heard Tony cover his face with his mask behind her, getting into position. Adelaide made herself invisible and made other images of herself behind her. That should mess with their metal minds long enough for her to attack them.

They came fast and all at once. Instantly, they all began attacking her images who swiftly avoided each shot, keeping the bots busy while Adelaide took a blow at each one. She grabbed the first bot by its arm, twisting it off easily. Then she kicked it off the roof. Another bot came charging at her and she used the arm in her hand to knock it down.

"Aren't you supposed to be bringing us down?" Adelaide asked, bringing down her elbow on a bot's foot. It fell and Adelaide rolled away just in time. She got up, stomping on its head, crushing it under her foot.

"Oh, yeah," he muttered.

" _Stark,"_ Steve warned over their coms.

"Hey, kid, you got this?" Tony asked, pausing. Adelaide made herself visible again. Another bot came running at the billionaire from behind and Tony shot it without turning back. Distracted, a bot knocked Adelaide off of her feet and she stumbled over the side of the building. She gasped, trying to get ahold of something to stop her fall. For the second time within the past 10 minutes, Tony came to her rescue. He caught her and then gently lowered her onto the ground, making sure she wasn't going to fall over before stepping back.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned. Adelaide nodded weakly.

"Go," she said quietly. Tony hesitated for a moment before he flying off. As soon as he left, Adelaide could see the remaining bots making their way down towards her. Adelaide glanced around. They were at the edge and people were huddled around in fear. The Sokovians looked at the strange, glowing, blue-eyed girl with hope. They were relying on her to save them because there was nothing they could do. Her eyes landed on a little girl hiding behind her mother. That should've been Rosie. She should still be alive. And then, Adelaide turned around, eyes gleaming over with determination. If Rosie could sacrifice her life, then so could she. Adelaide made herself invisible again; she felt more comfortable fighting that way.

 _Brave._

The bots came flying in, whizzing past her. She began tearing them apart, using them against each other, recycling their parts to hurt the other bots. It was her, against all of them. The Sokovians had never seen this particular girl before. Her white hair and glowing eyes seemed a bit unsettling to them. Where had she come from? Adelaide began to tire out, her wounded arm begging for her to stop. There was a dull, throbbing pain running through it and it was slowly becoming useless. She had to think of something, fast before these bots managed to hurt the civilians. Just as a bot hit her wounded arm, Adelaide saw a flash of a familiar red glow. She made herself visible, making eye contact with the witch before turning invisible again. Wanda nodded brusquely and the began to take on the bots together. Adelaide wounded them and Wanda pulled them apart like cotton. Soon, the wave of bots was gone and Adelaide made herself visible again.

"Thanks," Adelaide managed, out of breath.

"I owe it to you," the girl answered and Adelaide studied her for a second. The teenager just couldn't figure her out. Adelaide set her lips into a straight line and nodded. A moment later, the two girls ran back into the city, trying to help the other civilians.

" _The next wave is gonna hit any minute,"_ Steve said in the earpiece and Adelaide groaned. How many of these junkbots had Ultron made? Wanda searched inside the building while Adelaide looked through the windows.

" _What do you got, Stark?"_

" _Huh? Nothing great,"_ he replied, making her heart sink, " _Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface, if you guys can get clear."_

" _I asked for a solution, not an escape plan,"_ Steve said. Tony wanted to blow up the city? Was there really no other way out of this? The two helped a group of families out of the building, leading them to the others.

" _Impact radius is getting bigger every second, we're gonna have to make a choice."_

" _Cap these people are going nowhere,"_ Natasha said _. "If Stark finds a way to blow up this rock…"_ He couldn't do that! There were still several civilians on the rock and they had done nothing to deserve this. There had to be another way. They had to find another way.

" _Not till everyone's safe,"_ Steve muttered and Adelaide couldn't agree more.

" _Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there,"_ Natasha argued. Adelaide steered a family of three to the crowd, watching their backs as they ran. How could they do this to these people?

" _I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it,"_ Steve said.

" _I didn't say we should leave,"_ Natasha said. Adelaide looked at Wanda and the teenager's face softened. The two shared a subtle nod, agreeing that if they had to go, they would all go together.

" _There's worse ways to go...Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"_ Natasha said and Adelaide looked up. They were with the clouds and the view was surreal, as much as she hated to admit. Natasha had a point; there are worse ways to go. Adelaide glanced at Wanda who was looking out at the sky, too. The teenager realized this was Wanda's country, her home. She'd spent her whole life here just to watch everything fall apart.

"I never thought I'd see the day when my country was in the sky," Wanda said quietly with a small laugh. There was no humor in it, just sadness. Adelaide didn't feel anger towards the witch anymore. She had been doing what she thought was right at the time. Adelaide might have done the same in her place.

" _Glad you like the view, Romanoff,"_ Fury suddenly said over their coms, " _It's about to get better."_ Suddenly, the famous helicarrier appeared next to the rock.

" _Nice, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do,"_ he said. At the moment, she loved Fury and his dramatic entrance. He definitely knew how to save a flying country.

" _Fury, you son of a bitch,"_ Steve said, though Adelaide could hear the smile in his voice.

" _Ooho! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"_ came Fury's retort and Adelaide rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. Suddenly, lifeboats flew out of the helicarrier, each one stopping just by the edge of the rock.

" _This is SHIELD?"_ said Pietro.

" _This is what SHIELD's supposed to be,"_ Steve said.

" _This is not so bad."_ Wanda smiled.

" _Let's load 'em up!"_ Steve said and Adelaide and Wanda instantly moved into action. They began directing the crowds onto the lifeboat closest to them. Adelaide helped the officers load everyone onto the boat, telling them to calm down. In all honesty, everyone looked relieved. Adelaide definitely _felt_ relieved. These people were all going to be safe.

" _Thor, I got a plan,"_ Tony said. His voice sounded strained.

" _We're out of time,"_ the god answered, " _They're coming for the core."_

" _Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier."_

" _On it,"_ Rhodey replied swiftly.

" _Avengers, time to work for a living."_

"Watch your step," Adelaide told a man as he boarded the boat. Then, confident the Sokovian officers could handle this, she began making her way to the core – Wanda was already there. But just as she was about to leave, a bot flew at the crowd, making them scramble and scream in terror. Adelaide immediately turned herself invisible and lunged at the bot, latching onto him in the air. She shook him until he lost balance and then they both fell to the ground, rolling over in a fight. The civilians watched the robot's arm get twisted by seemingly nothing and it was like he was being held down by nothing. They glanced at one another, confused. Suddenly, the glowing, blue-eyed girl from earlier appeared over the bot. Adelaide jumped off the bot just in time to avoid the beam he shot at her. She rolled in the dirt, coughing before standing up. She glanced over her back at the crowd standing behind her. The officers were holding their fire, but their guns were aimed. In the crowd, a certain boy secretly pulled out his phone, beginning to record the fight between the strange bot and even stranger white-haired, glowing-eyed girl. He imagined how popular he'd be if he ever got out of this alive.

Meanwhile, the bot had grabbed ahold of Adelaide's throat and she was struggling to get it off. All the bullets the officers fired bounced off of it harmlessly as if they were plastic darts. She clawed at his hands, anger bubbling up in her chest. She _hated_ these stupid bots more than anything and she wanted to kick his robot ass off of this rock. Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming buzzing of anger in her veins and then she pushed back with an extreme force, causing the robot to fly off of her. It hit a building and then crumbled to the ground. Adelaide gasped, trying to breathe and sit up.

" _Adie? We need all hands on deck,"_ Tony said with a groaned and Adelaide scrambled up. She turned around and gave the crowd a weary nod before running away.

" _Keep your panties on, I'm coming,"_ she breathed. When she got there, the next wave of bots was already there, trying to get their hands on the core. Suddenly, Natasha came running up behind her.

"Where's the drill?" she asked. Tony pointed to the circular metal in the middle.

"This is the drill. If Ultron gets his hands on the core, we lose." Adelaide felt a shiver up her spine just at the thought. She couldn't even imagine the death count if Ultron got his way. Speaking of the metal-headed devil…

"Is that the best you can do?" Thor shouted at him. Adelaide winced. This might be her first out on a mission like this, but she knew to never ask that question. Ultron raised his hand, holding up two fingers and moving them back and forth. Instantly, his whole army of Ultron bots came running towards them.

"You had to ask," Steve muttered and Adelaide let out a breath.

" _This_ is the best I can do," Ultron said and the teenager was reminded how much she hated his voice.

"This is exactly what I wanted," he continued, "All of you, against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well," Tony said, "like the old man said...together." The Hulk roared with anger, pulling his arms together.

And then, the fight began.

The bots came from every direction. Adelaide tore apart each one, repeating Rosie's last words in her mind. Every time she heard the sound in her head of Rosie's body hitting the ground, Adelaide grew angrier. She shot at them with her gun, hitting her target perfectly each time and not letting a single bot get close to the core. In those moments, she was surging with energy from head to toe, heaving with anger. For the first time since she woke up at the Tower, she felt _alive_.

In the distance, she heard Ultron groan with impatience. He flew up and Vision held him off in the air, fighting. Ultron threw Vision against the wall, but he aimed the power from the stone on his head, pushing Ultron backwards slowly. Thor concentrated his powers through his hammer, aiming it at Ultron. Tony turned around, blasting his beam at the AI as well. With the three attacking him at once, Ultron began melting until he fell back and the three heroes stopped. Ultron groaned.

"You know," he began, "with the benefits of hindsight…" Suddenly, the Hulk appeared in front of him and he punched the metal idiot off the rock with a roar. The other bots next to him began flying off of the rock, running away. Cowards.

"They'll try to leave the city," Thor said.

"We can't let them, not even one," Tony said, "Rhodey."

" _I'm on it."_

"We gotta move out," Steve said, "Even I can tell the air is getting thin." He was right. Adelaide had to start taking deeper breaths to keep herself going.

"You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."

"What about the core?" Clint asked.

"I'll protect it," Wanda said, "It's my job." Adelaide looked up. Wanda made eye contact with her and Adelaide understood. The girl was redeeming herself. She needed to do this, even if part of the reason was for herself. Clint nodded.

"Nat, kid. This way," he said and the redhead and teenager followed after him. Adelaide stopped, glancing back at the witch who gave her a small smile. Adelaide found herself returning it before turning around and running away. Wanda turned back, facing her twin.

"Get the people on the boats," she ordered.

"I'm not going to leave you here," he said, shaking his head.

"I can handle this." Suddenly, a bot came running from her left and she knocked him down with her powers. "Come back for me when everyone else is off, not before." Pietro grunted in agreement, annoyed. Why did she always have to be right?

"You understand?" she asked, stopping him as he was leaving. He turned around, a cocky smile on his face.

"You know, I'm 12 minutes older than you," he said. Wanda laughed, something she hadn't done in a while.

"Go," she said, smiling.

He grinned and sped off, leaving his twin sister behind.

By the boats, Adelaide was helping the civilians board the boat, reassuring them that they were safe.

"Nice and easy," she said, "Find a seat." She searched the boat for Rosie's grandmother, but Adelaide couldn't see her anywhere. Panicking, Adelaide began searching all the other boats for her, but she was there. Adelaide began losing control of her breathing and she tried to calm herself down. She was probably still in the church. She took in a deep breath. The church wasn't that far from here. She would make it back in time. Adelaide took off, running in the direction of the church. She head Clint shout her name behind her, but she ignored him. She couldn't leave her grandmother here to die. She arrived at the church and stood by the entrance, trying to catch her breath. Adelaide felt a pang in her chest, seeing flashes of that moment before her again. She swallowed, taking a deep breath before stepping inside.

Her grandmother was right where she had been before, still holding Rosie in her arms. Adelaide bent over carefully, gently laying a hand on her back. She was asleep and her body was shuddering with each breath under Adelaide's hand. When she felt Adelaide's hand, she jerked up, holding the knife in her hand.

"Who is it!" she shouted. Adelaide looked at with sadness.

"It's just me," she said quietly. Her grandmother didn't move for a second and then she dropped the knife, crumbling into Adelaide's arms. The teenager held her close, rubbing her back.

"You need to get to safety," Adelaide told her, pulling away. She shook her head.

"There's no point," she said, "I have no life to live without her."

"I'm sorry," Adelaide found herself saying, "It's my fault. If I hadn't been so careless, if I just looked or...or if I had my gun out and —"

"It's not your fault," her grandmother said suddenly, "it's not anyone's fault. It was her choice. If her mother were here, she would be so, so proud." Adelaide looked at Rosie lying in her grandmother's lap. Her cheeks had lost their color, but Adelaide could almost pretend she was sleeping.

"She'd want you to take care of that," Her grandmother said and Adelaide realized she was talking about the doll in her hand. She didn't question how she knew Adelaide was holding it. She held it tighter.

"With my life," Adelaide said. They were both silent for a long time, just listening to each other breathing.

"We have to go. Now," Adelaide said, "You want to bury her properly, right?" Her grandmother closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The girl was right. Rosie deserved a proper burial. With great pain, she began to stand up, her hand never leaving Rosie's. Adelaide helped the woman up and carried Rosie in her arms. Together, the two began to walk out of the church without looking back. The moment the stepped outside, a bot flew at them. Adelaide ducked seconds before it hit her. She handed Rosie to her grandmother quickly before the bot came back.

"Go!" she shouted, "Get to the lifeboats!"

When the woman didn't move, she shouted, "I can handle this! You take her and go!"

She stood there for a second before nodding and quickly walking away. Adelaide turned her attention to the bot, remembering what Tony had said. They had to kill each and every bot and not even one could be left or Ultron would still be undefeated. She knew Rhodey had taken care of the bots that had escaped, which meant this one must be one of the last ones. She got into position, light weaving around her hands, her power tingling her fingertips. The bot flew at her and Adelaide got a feeling this one was different. It was desperate to win. But so was she.

When he got close enough, Adelaide fired her gun at him and he staggered back, but didn't fall. He flew back again, landing just behind her. She turned around just in time to avoid the beam he fired at her. Before she had time to pull herself together again, he shot again and Adelaide fell, losing her balance. He came closer, firing beams quickly and Adelaide narrowly avoided them. She caught a moment between the firing to roll away and jump up. Before he could react, she fired at his leg, making him lose balance. Taking advantage of that, she held up her gun again, shooting him everywhere until she heard a click from her gun. She tossed it aside, jumping onto the bot while it was still on the ground. Adelaide dug her fingers into the space behind his neck, ripping the metal off.

She realized she was crying, but it was from anger.

"This is for hurting me," she said, grasping a group of wires and pulling them off. His arm twisted around, grabbing for her.

"This is for destroying Sokovia," she said, twisting his arm off. It was getting really hard to breathe at this height and Adelaide was gasping for air. She stood up, turning the bot over. He had stopped fighting back a long time ago. Slowly, she bent down and grabbed his metal head with both of her hands.

"And this," Adelaide breathed, "is for killing Rosie."

She tore his head off and threw it at the church wall. Adelaide fell to her knees, too tired to hold up herself anymore. She had overused her powers; she was exhausted. The teenager sat there in the dirt next to the pile of metal, trying to stop crying. She cried about Rosie. She cried about her mother, her father, the lullaby, the life she couldn't remember living, the horrors branded into her brain...she cried about everything until she had no tears left to shed. Adelaide felt as if she was broken into a million pieces that were scattered too far to put back together.

Suddenly, the ground began shaking beneath her and she scrambled up, looking around.

" _Adie...please tell me you're on one of the boats,"_ said Tony. She watched in amazement as her feet were lifted off the ground and she came to a terrible realization. The rock was falling.

"I'm still here," she whispered, terrified. She was going to die. She was really going to die. And she couldn't even cry.

" _Hold on!"_

As if it could possibly get any worse, the ground began cracking beneath her feet. Suddenly, there was a wave of light sweeping across the entire rock and then everything crumbled and Adelaide was falling in the sky. She was falling towards the ground along with the rocks that were once Sokovia. She closed her eyes, hoping it would be quick and painless. This was the end.

Suddenly, she noticed a familiar flash of red and yellow flying towards her. She blinked and when she opened her eyes, she was in Iron Man's arms, swerving around the huge rocks falling on them.

"How many times am I going to have to catch you before you learn to stop falling?" he said and Adelaide sighed, relief coursing through her veins.

She wasn't going to die. Not today.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: A little late, but I think it's alright. School starts in a week and I have no idea what to expect or how I'm going to force this story into my schedule. But don't worry, I'll figure it out somehow because I love this story and I want to finish it. Although, I should warn you that I've never actually finished any of my stories and this might be the first one.**

 **So I just finished Iron Man 3 and, yes, I am rewatching all of the Marvel movies just for the heck of it. I watched The Avengers yesterday and it's even better than I remember it ("Hulk...smash!"). Ah, good movies.**

 **Alright so this chapter is (unfortunately) the last chapter from Age of Ultron and a lot of it is literally just wrapping up emotions and loose ends. It starts with some inner monologue from Adelaide. You know how in movies the character is talking, but like on the screen they're just driving or something? It's like that. Picture Adie sitting in a car, looking out the window, wind blowing in her hair, and you hear her voiceover saying what she's thinking. I don't know if I'm making any sense. Anyway, there's gonna be a little more of Wanda in this scene and THE BIG REVEAL. You guys FINALLY get to see what Adie's superhero name is gonna be and I think it sounds pretty menacing and suits her power perfectly. Once again, I just wanna thank the people who helped me out with that because it really helped me make a decision even though it took a whole week after that. Maybe the other name that I didn't pick but really wanted to can be for another fic. Lmao let me just try to get through this one first.**

 **The rest of the chapter after The Reveal is just Adie wrapping up her emotions and expressing how the past month or so has been for her and how she's been handling it. Also, you know how we've been kind of having a Graves drought for a while now? Well, I fixed that. Oh, and I swear he killed Ross for a reason. You'll see why in this chapter.**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: Haha I'm so sorry about Rosie, but you can blame it on Marissa Meyer for giving me the idea. Anyway, I had to kill her because it kind of gives Adie a push to the side of the accords I want her to be on, although I'm sure you can guess which side that is after that last chapter. Speaking of, I did put a lot of effort into the last chapter and thank you so much for your incredibly amazing review! I really appreciate it!**_

 **Thanks to:** _ **He4artBreaker101, Flufflymarshmallows, RedStar908, and itsolive**_ **for** **following/favoriting or leaving a review! I don't know how I'd be motivated to write this story without you guys.**

* * *

 _"We're gonna_

 _have so much fun_

 _together."_

* * *

 _NEW AVENGERS FACILITY_

 _MAY 28, 2015_

 _It's been 22 days since the Battle of Sokovia and 22 nights since I've gotten any sleep._

 _I still think about her. Every breathing moment of my day, I think about her. She's always on my mind. I keep the doll close. Tony helped me fix it up and I'm sure Rosie would be proud of how beautiful it looked now. Just like her. She comes in my nightmares and I have to watch her die over and over again in a million different ways. I don't know how many more times I can watch it._

 _Ever since the battle, I've toyed with the idea of death in my mind. It's...different. An escape from all the horrors and suffering of reality. In the moment that I was falling through the sky, I felt death. It was so close, whispering in my ear to come closer. But in that moment, I knew that there was so much more I wanted to do before I died. Although I'm not sure if I'll ever get my memories back, that wasn't one of the things I wanted to do. I wanted to feel alive again. I wanted to be comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to get to know who Adelaide Maxwell Rivers really was. I ask myself that a lot. Who am I? Until recently, I've been stumbling around clumsily in attempts to find the answer. But now...now I know in my heart that the answer will come to me one day. I've stopped searching and, instead, I've started to build my own identity. Not many people have the chance to start over. I had that chance. My life started over the day I woke up in the Tower. Now, I'm making my own person, my new life._

 _There are only two people in this world that I'd give my life for because I know they would do the same for me. Tony and Pepper haven't left my side since the battle. They've been my pillars, my crutches. They've been there to help to stand up again. It's been hard to let go when rock bottom felt so comfortable. Somewhere deep down, I know this isn't the last time I'm going to fall. I know that I'm going to have to rebuild myself over and over again until I create a new identity._

 _It's not going to be easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way._

"It's kind of quiet, don't you think?" Tony asked, eyes on the road. Adelaide turned away from the window, smiling at the billionaire. He smiled in return and then reached for the music button. Adelaide leaned her head back, taking a deep breath. She loved the smell of fresh air, untouched by the pollution of the city.

"You still planning on going back to school after this?" he asked after a while. Adelaide looked out the window again, watching the trees. She hadn't been to school since the day Tony had thrown the party. It had been a little over a month, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go back there yet. It felt too soon.

"I don't know," she answered and Tony glanced at her sideways.

"You only have a month left before it's out," he said. She shrugged in reply and then Tony dropped the subject. Not long after, they arrived at the newly built Avengers facility. Adelaide got out of the car and headed inside while Tony went to park it. Not many people knew her here. Well, they knew who she was when she was fighting: the white-haired, glowing-eyed girl, but they didn't know Adelaide Rivers. Adelaide wanted to keep it that way. She felt more comfortable keeping her superhero identity a secret. After looking through several unfamiliar faces, she bumped into Hill who showed her where the others were. She thanked her and headed upstairs slowly, trying to take everything in.

Upstairs, she found Rhodey and Wanda sitting around, watching tv.

"Hey," Adelaide said as the door closed behind her.

"Adelaide!" Rhodey said, running up to greet her. It had been a while since she'd seen him. She smiled.

"So how are the new stories doing?" she asked. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Trust me, the War Machine always has good stories," he said. Adelaide raised her eyebrow.

"You sure about that?"

"Tony's gotten into your head," he said with a small laugh, "He's a terrible influence." She definitely agreed with him on that. Adelaide looked past Rhodey at Wanda whose eyes were fixed on the tv in front of her.

"I've gotta go," Rhodey said suddenly, making Adelaide look away, "Duty calls. I'll see you around." He patted her shoulder. Adelaide smiled politely, nodding.

"Yeah, see you." She stood there awkwardly for a second after she heard the door close.

"You can sit, if you want," Wanda said, making room on the couch for the teenager. Adelaide sat down next to her, stiff. It was still strange for her to see how normal the witch was. After the battle at the Salvage Yard, Adelaide had created an image of the witch in her mind and pegged her as a terrible person. It was hard to look past that now and Adelaide didn't really know her that well to do so. Tony had told her that Pietro had died, saving Clint's life. Both of the twins had had a change of heart after they sided with the Avengers.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Adelaide said after a moment of staring at the tv. Wanda just nodded, eyes never leaving the screen. They both were silent for a long time, just watching the tv. Adelaide hadn't watched tv in a while either. At the moment, there were news about the Avengers saving lives in Sokovia. Adelaide took a deep breath, seeing the images. She didn't want to see that all again. She wondered how hard it must be for Wanda to watch her country getting destroyed.

"You're famous," Wanda said suddenly and Adelaide looked at her.

"What do you mean?" The witch smiled, gestured to the tv. There was a clip of her fighting one the bots in Sokovia. At first, it seemed like the bot was being held down by nothing until, suddenly, Adelaide appeared over him. Her face was flushed, making the high cheekbones from her disguise look even higher. And with her white hair all over the place and her blue eyes glowing, she looked dangerous. The screen switched to a blonde sitting at a table in a broadcasting room.

" _And there you have it. Exclusive footage of a rumored new Avenger. Witnesses say she was strange, terrifying, and kind all at once. One person even said, 'It was like she was there one second and invisible the next. You could never know where she really was. And her eyes. I can still see them glowing blue if I close my eyes. It was supernatural.' The people have found a new name for this strange girl and have began to call her the Blue Phantom because of her phantom-like abilities. Tune in tonight to get more information on what we know about this new superhero. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for the Blue Phantom."_

Adelaide didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected to be _noticed_. She was just there with the Avengers, helping. She hadn't considered herself an Avenger. Although, Pepper would definitely not agree with that decision. Even then, seeing the video of herself fighting the bot made something flutter in her chest. In some way, the Battle of Sokovia had been her shot at redemption. Maybe she didn't need redemption or maybe what she did wouldn't be enough, but she did know it made her feel proud of herself for the first time. And the Blue Phantom sounded pretty awesome. Wanda noticed a small smile on the teenager's face.

"The Blue Phantom," Wanda said aloud, "It has a nice ring to it." Adelaide nodded.

"Yeah, it does." She liked it. The Blue Phantom was a girl who helped saved lives in Sokovia. She was a superhero and she was Adelaide's key to redemption.

"Listen," Wanda said suddenly, pulling Adelaide out of her thoughts, "I want to apologize for what I did to you. I was a different person then. I was angry and vengeful."

"I know," Adelaide said quietly, her mind wandering to the vision she had had. She had to keep herself from shivering at the thought.

"So we're good?"

"Yeah, we're good. Although, I should probably apologize for calling you a bitch." Wanda laughed.

"Don't," she said, waving her hand, "I was one."

"Yeah," Adelaide agreed, smiling, "You were." Wanda used her powers to telekinetically bring two cans of beer to the couch and she handed one to Adelaide. The teenager realized this was the third time she drank alcohol since the start of Ultron. She shrugged to herself, popping it open.

"What do you Americans say again…?" Wanda said, opening her can. Adelaide grinned, bumping her can to Wanda's.

"Cheers!"

"To the Blue Phantom," Wanda said.

"And to end of Ultron," Adelaide added, a silly grin on her face. As she was drinking the beer, she knew this wasn't the end, it was only the beginning.

* * *

"The rules have changed."

"We're dealing with something new," Tony said.

"Oh, the Vision is artificial intelligence," Steve said.

"A machine," the billionaire agreed.

"So it doesn't count?"

"No, it's not like it's a person lifting the hammer," Tony said, shrugging. The Asgardian looked between the two, amused.

"Right," the super soldier said, "different rules for us."

"Nice guy," Tony said, "artificial." Thor chuckled.

"He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone," Thor said, "It's safe with the Vision...and these days safe is in short supply." The three Avengers were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator…" Steve prompted.

"It would still go up," Tony said. Steve shook his head.

"Elevator's not worthy." Thor smiled to himself and patted the billionaire on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours," Thor said.

"Not if you don't leave," Tony said. Thor smiled. He began walking and the other two followed.

"I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. And once all these pieces are in position…"

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony said.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked. They were outside now, the sounds of agents training floating down.

"I do," Thor said and then he glanced at Tony, "Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained." The god walked forward, making room for his teleportation. He turned around and nodded at the two Avengers. Little did he know it would be a while until he saw them again. And the next time he saw them, the universe would be a different place. The god lifted his hammer into the sky and a portal opened up, taking the Asgardian with it and leaving a burning signature mark on the grass.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance," Tony remarked, looking at the super soldier. The two turned and walked away. "I'm gonna miss him, though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears." The billionaire reached into his pocket and commanded for his car to come out of the garage.

"I will miss you, Tony," the super soldier said.

"Yeah?"

"I'll miss you too, Captain," Adelaide said, walking towards them. Tony glanced at her and then his car.

"So if I press this button, you come along with the car?" the billionaire asked and Adelaide rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face. Tony noticed she looked a lot brighter than she was when they came here. He wondered where she'd been this whole time.

"Well, it's time for me to tap out," Tony said, walking closer to his car, "Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book. Build Pepper and Adie a farm, hope nobody blows it up." That didn't sound like such a terrible idea to the teenager. Steve nodded.

"The simple life."

"You'll get there one day," Tony said.

"I don't know. Family, stability...the guy who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. I think someone else came out." Tony nodded understandingly and then reached for his car door. Adelaide went around to the other side, opening her own door but not getting inside just yet.

"You all right?" Tony asked the super soldier before stepping inside. Steve inhaled, nodding. He glanced at the teenager.

"I'm home."

* * *

 _STARK TOWER_

 _A FEW WEEKS LATER_

Adelaide gently ran her thumb over the doll's cheek, sighing. She leaned her head against her chair on the balcony, closing her eyes. She breathed in, inhaling the smell of the city. It felt so familiar. She opened her eyes again, watching the skyline as the sun set into it. She would be lying if she'd said that she hadn't missed the city even with all its noise and traffic. Even with all the chaos, this was like her haven. She didn't feel safe anywhere else.

"Sunbathing only works when the sun is out," Tony said, walking on the balcony. He sat down in the chair next to her, pulling it closer.

"I could say the same for your sunglasses," she remarked, gesturing to the pair he was wearing at the moment.

"What? These? Oh, no, these are smart glasses. I've got FRIDAY on them."

"Of course they are," she mumbled, looking back at the sunset. The sun was beginning to disappear quickly and the sky was getting darker.

"You okay?" Tony asked, pulling off his smart glasses and hooking them to his shirt. Adelaide glanced down at the doll in her hand, fixing her hair.

"I think I'm gonna be," she answered softly. She cleared her throat.

"You?" He nodded.

"This isn't the first time," he said, chuckling although he didn't sound amused. The two stared at the setting sun together, lost in their own thoughts. Sokovia felt worlds away, like a terrible nightmare in the back of her mind that she wanted to forget.

"Still no sign of Bruce?" Adelaide asked, turning her head to look at Tony. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Nothing." Adelaide's shoulders slumped. Whether she admitted it or not, she had grown somewhat close to Bruce. He was someone she went to when she needed good advice or just a long lecture about something that was completely beyond her understanding to use as a distraction.

"How's Nat doing?" the teenage asked. Everyone on the team had noticed that there was something going on between the two. She knew Nat was probably hung up over the fact that she was wrong that Bruce and the Hulk could ever be the same person.

"She's made herself busy training the greenies, but I think she's gonna be fine," Tony answered. Adelaide sighed. She wondered when she was ever going to meet Bruce again, if ever. And Thor. He might be a little crazy, but he knew how to have fun. She was going to miss him, too. It was crazy how much just one mishap could change their lives completely.

Tony stood up with a sigh, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"You gonna be alright?" Adelaide smiled, taking a deep breath.

"I'm home," she answered, mimicking Steve. Tony looked at her for a second before smiling and ruffling her hair. Adelaide reached up, fixing her hair as he walked back inside. She looked out at the sky again. The city, the noise, the traffic, the lights...she really was home. Suddenly, her phone buzzed and she realized it was a call from Peter.

"Hey," she answered.

" _Hey, what're you up to?"_ he asked.

"Not much. You?"

" _Homework,"_ he groaned. She grinned.

"And talking on the phone will get it done faster how…?"

" _Don't start, Ada,"_ he said and Adelaide could hear the smile in his voice, " _Anyway, I've been dying to tell you about what happened in gym this morning. I swear Flash peed his pants a little."_ Flash peeing his pants? What could've possibly happened? Adelaide sighed. She always missed the good stuff.

"What happened?"

" _Wait, first, I have to tell you about the new coach. His name is Coach Graves and he's just as scary as he sounds. He's this big, burly guy who could probably sneeze and I'd fall over. He's so huge! And get this, he wears an eyepatch! I mean, how many guys nowadays do you see wearing eyepatches? He creeps everyone out."_ Adelaide let out a breath. An eyepatch? She was reminded of Fury and how he had freaked her out originally. But this guy sounded scary even through the phone.

"He sounds strange," Adelaide said, wrinkling her nose. There was this ticklish feeling at the back of her mind, but it was so out of reach, she didn't bother to try remembering. It was probably something she'd forgotten to do.

" _He is. So the other day, we were all in gym and Flash raised his hand and asked Coach Graves where he had gotten the eyepatch from and you know what he said?"_

"What?" she breathed.

" _He glared at Flash and said, 'You want one too, kid?'"_ Adelaide laughed. That should teach Flash a lesson.

" _I know,"_ Peter said, " _Ned and I were laughing too until he looked us. I kinda liked Coach Stiles better than this guy. The worst thing about him was his powdered fingers. Coach Graves...he's too scary."_ They were both quiet for a little while and Adelaide sighed, looking at her doll. She traced the _R_ stitched onto the breast pocket of the doll's dress with her finger.

" _Tomorrow's the last day of school...are you coming?"_ Peter asked. She sighed again, looking down at the street. It was starting to get dark now and the city lights were beginning to turn on, one by one. She absentmindedly traced her finger over the scar on her arm. One of the first things Adelaide had done after coming home from Sokovia was search up the lullaby, trying to find the whole song. She had found it, but it hadn't brought back any more memories like she'd hoped. It was frustrating. Every night since then, she listened to the lullaby while falling asleep – it was the only thing that helped. The lullaby helped her feel closer to her mother and that was the closest she could ever get.

" _Ada?"_

"Hm? Oh, sorry," she mumbled, shaking out of her thoughts.

" _So are you? Coming, I mean."_ Adelaide fixed the doll's shirt. She always kept it close, on her nightstand, but it had been two months since the incident. She took a deep breath, holding the doll closer to her chest. It was time to move on. She would never forget what happened on May 6 at Sokovia. She would never forget Rosie, but she had to accept the fact that it was time to move on.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

* * *

Adelaide had missed their little talks over lunch. They never failed to be entertaining. Right now, they were gushing about the Blue Phantom. Which she didn't mind at all.

"Blue Phantom versus the Scarlet Witch," Ned prompted. His lunch tray was left untouched as he was too excited about the topic.

"Do they use their powers or no?" Peter asked, biting into his sandwich.

"Duh, of course," Ned said.

"Definitely the Blue Phantom," Adelaide said, sipping her water. She and Wanda hadn't exactly fought each other, but Adelaide liked to think that she'd win. How was Wanda supposed to attack her if she couldn't see her?

"No, I think it would be the Scarlet Witch," Peter said, shaking his head. Ned gaped at him.

"Seriously, dude? The Scarlet Witch does not stand a chance," Ned said and Adelaide couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah, right," Peter scoffed and Adelaide rolled her eyes. Even though they could both be big dorks sometimes, Adelaide was more than grateful for them. She showed up at school two months later, on the last day without an excuse for her absence and they didn't pester her with questions. There was just the 'Hey, are you okay?' or 'I'm glad you're back.' She was glad they could understand that she needed her space. Maybe one day, she'd tell them what really happened, but, right now, she wasn't ready. Although Peter didn't ask his friend any questions, he couldn't help but feel curious. He'd known her for a few months now, but she still felt like a stranger. He couldn't figure her out; she was a big mystery. She disappeared for two whole months and whenever they talked on the phone, her answers were always very vague. He had no idea where she'd been these past two months and the curiosity was burning inside of him like a hot flame.

"I heard the Blue Phantom came from her another planet, like Thor and that's why her eyes glow," Ned said. It was Adelaide's turn to scoff.

"You think she's an alien?" she asked with a small laugh, "That's ridiculous."

"Then how do you explain the glowing eyes?" Peter asked. Adelaide shrugged. She had asked Bruce to look into that a while ago, but he said that whenever she used her powers, the energy inside of her glowed. He told her the only way she could get her eyes to stop glowing would be to stop using her powers. Adelaide had tried to use the light to dim the glowing, but, if anything, they became brighter. After a lot of failed attempts, she admitted defeat. Although, she didn't exactly mind – it made her look menacing. It just meant that she'd have to be careful using her powers in public.

"It's the energy, it makes her eyes glow," Adelaide said, biting into her apple. Peter and Ned glanced at each other. It made sense. The bell rang, signalling that it was time for the end of the year assembly. They held a pep rally each year to sign off the eighth graders to high school. Adelaide had never been to a pep rally before and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little excited. The three dumped their trays in the trash and joined the group of eighth graders heading towards the gym, their discussion about the Blue Phantom still ongoing. Adelaide had taken a step back and was just listening to them talk about the new superhero instead of joining the discussion.

Once they got to the gym, the teachers directed them onto the bleachers, filling up each row. The crowd was filled with excited chatter. Adelaide, Ned, and Peter sat closer to the bottom. The teachers were running around, trying to get everything in place. There was a giant banner hanging from the ceiling, wishing goodbye to the eighth graders. The speakers were blasting music at full volume. Adelaide saw Ned's lips move, but she couldn't hear a word. He raised his voice so that he was practically shouting.

"Have you heard about the new coach?" he shouted. Adelaide nodded. Ned pointed to a man in khakis at the far end of the gym.

"That's him!" Peter shouted. Adelaide squinted her eyes, but she couldn't make out his face, or even the eye patch. She shrugged, deciding she'll see him when he comes closer. Slowly, the music quieted down and so did the chatter.

"Alright eighth graders!" Mr. Kingsley, the biology teacher, shouted into the microphone, "ARE YOU READY?"

The crowd screamed happily, stomping their feet on the bleachers in excitement. The sound was deafening.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" The crowd screamed louder this time and Mr. Kingsley grinned, satisfied.

"That's better," he said, laughing, "Alright, now I know most of you are excited for the rally, but first, I want you give a huge round of applause for our new coach! He's done an excellent job at stepping into our beloved Coach Ross' shoes and I'm excited to announce that he will be transferring to Midtown High as the head coach just as Coach Ross would have done. Let's give it up for Coach Graves!" Adelaide could tell the applause and cheering wasn't as loud as it was for Mr. Kingsley and she got the idea that not many kids liked him. Adelaide glanced down, noticing her shoelaces were untied and she bent down to tie them.

"Thank you, thank you Mr. Kingsley." Adelaide froze, her finger wrapped around the shoelace. The voice made a shiver run up her spine and she felt her throat tightening. She swallowed, trying to control her breathing.

"Look!" she heard Ned whisper, tapping her shoulder, "It's him!" A terrible feeling had settled into her gut as she leaned back up. She licked her dry lips, looking at Ned. He pointed to the man standing in the middle of the gym, much closer than he was before. Slowly, Adelaide turned her head to look at him.

He was looking right at her and he had a smile on his face. Adelaide felt her head exploding with agonizing pain and she dug her nails into the palm of her hand. He lifted the microphone to his mouth, his eyes never leaving her.

"We're gonna have so much fun together."

And that was the last thing she heard before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and everything went black.

* * *

 **Okay, so you know how all the superheroes (except Black Widow, but I heard she's got a director) have their own movies? Well, picture this next chunk of the story is Adelaide's movie. She's got a villain to fight, a little sideline romance, cool powers, etc. I have the name for it, too. Are you ready? Alright, here it is.**

 **Blue Phantom: Dawn of Truth  
**

 **Cool, right? I am seriously so excited for this. Also, Peter's gonna get bitten by a spider and he's gonna get powers and Ben's gonna die and ohmygod I'm literally bouncing in my seat from excitement! It's gonna be awesomeeeee.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey guys! So I've had a pretty hectic week, trying to get everything together before school starts again (in four days, sadly) and I haven't had that much time to write. I had the chapter finished yesterday, but didn't have time to edit and upload it. I guess this is probably what it's gonna be like once school starts. I might have to take a whole week to write the chapter :/**

 **Anyway, so this chapter has a little time jump from the previous one which ended in a cliffhanger...oops. The last chapter was like the wrap up of Ultron and then like a post credits scene for the Blue Phantom: Dawn of Truth movie or part of the story or whatever we're calling it. This chapter is the start of Dawn of Truth and I definitely enjoyed writing it. Adie's back in school, high school now. Her birthday passed last month so now she's 14 years old, freshman in high school.**

 **Well, there's not much else to say...**

 _ **lizlil: Oh my god thank you so much! Your review literally left a smile on my face and the fact that Adie seems like a real person has got to be the greatest compliment for an author! Seriously, thank you so much for your amazing review!**_

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: I had to leave it at a cliffhanger lol**_ _ **and I agree with you This story is finally getting closer to the reason I began writing it in the first place and I'm seriously so excited for the rest!**_

 **Thank you to: _lizlil, Flufflymarshmallows, and Noxy the Proxy_ for eitherfollowing/favoriting, or leaving an amazing review! I cannot stress enough how important you guys are to this story!**

* * *

 _"The man's crazy."_

* * *

 _FIRST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL_

 _SEPTEMBER 7, 2015_

The line was painfully long and Adelaide could swear it had stopped moving. She sighed, shifting her weight to her other leg and hooking her thumb under her backpack strap. She ran her hand through her hair which was still damp from her shower this morning.

"...and then he did a complete flip and landed right side up on his skateboard! How cool is that!" Ned gushed about some skateboarder he'd seen on tv. Adelaide had learned to know when to tune them out. The teenager glanced back at the curly-haired girl behind them, hoping to get some conversation out of her.

"Hey Michelle," Adelaide greeted. The girl glanced up from her book in response before looking down again. Adelaide sighed, craning her neck to look at the line. It moved one step. At this rate, it was going to be late afternoon by the time they got their schedules.

Suddenly, Ned and Peter's conversation about skateboarding stopped and Adelaide followed their gaze to see why. She rolled her eyes when she saw the girl they were both gaping at. Adelaide smacked their heads.

"Ow!"

"What was that for!"

"You're going to creep the poor girl out," Adelaide said. Michelle glanced up from her book.

"She's right." And then she went back to reading.

"But it's _Liz_!" Ned whisper yelled. Adelaide raised an eyebrow

"And?"

"It's Liz _Allan_!" Peter said, as if that made it clearer.

"Yeah, we could do this all day," she muttered and Peter grinned.

"She's—We've—I've—" Adelaide hit Peter on the head again.

"I've had a crush on her since...since as long as I can remember," Peter said, "And now she's here!" The two began staring at her again and Adelaide rolled her eyes. It was getting annoying. For some reason, she really wanted Peter to just stop looking at her, but she couldn't pinpoint why.

"And staring at a girl is the best way to her heart," Adelaide said sarcastically, ignoring the little feeling in her chest. She glanced at Liz again, a flicker of anger sparking in her chest. She was by the lockers, laughing with her friends. Adelaide didn't have to look too far to see why Peter liked her so much. The line moved one step again and Adelaide had to practically drag the two boys ahead by their backpacks.

"She has a new hairstyle…" Ned said dreamily. Peter nodded.

"And she got a new pair of shoes…" Adelaide wrinkled her nose. He was being _way_ too observant, on the borderline of stalker.

"Names?" Adelaide turned around, realizing they were at the front desk already. The lady behind the table looked impatient and Adelaide smacked the two boys on their heads again to make them turn away.

"Adelaide Rivers," she said. The lady flipped through a folder and then pulled out a white paper with Adelaide's name in the corner. Adelaide thanked her and stepped aside so the other two could get their schedules. Her eyes skimmed over the paper while she was waiting.

First thing in the morning she had Algebra 2, which was absolutely fantastic considering how much she hated that subject. After that, she had gym, lunch, Chemistry, and English. Once Algebra was over, the rest of her day didn't seem so terrible. Adelaide noticed Peter and Ned stepping out of the line with their schedules in hand.

"Let me see," Adelaide said, snatching Peter's schedule.

"Excuse me," the desk lady said, making the three of them turn around, "Please don't crowd around the line. The bell is about to ring in 5 minutes, begin making your way to your class." The three nodded and then headed off, talking as they were walking down the hall.

Adelaide read over Peter's schedule, frowning.

"Algebra 2 Honors? Nerd," she teased and Peter rolled his eyes, snatching the paper back from her hand.

"Jealous much?" he muttered.

"I'd rather _not_ be in your nerdy math class."

"Besides math, I think we all have the same schedule," Peter said, scanning his paper.

"I don't have Chemistry with you two," Ned said, looking up from his paper.

"Oh? What do you have then?" Ned grinned.

"Computer." Adelaide laughed, knowing how much he loved anything related to computers.

They approached the Algebra class (the non-honors one because not everyone could be a genius at math) and Adelaide and Ned said goodbye to Peter as he rushed upstairs to his class, having only 2 minutes left before the late bell rang. As Adelaide was heading inside, she noticed Liz walking down the hall in her black skirt and Adelaide glanced down at the black jeans she was wearing, tugging at her leather jacket with a frown.

Then, the bell rang and Adelaide hurried inside.

"Math is an art, a very sharp piece if I'm being specific. There is an...elegance to the idea and a beauty underneath the hard surface. A diamond in the rough, if you will," Mr. Hans said. He was seemingly lost in another world and Adelaide wanted to puke. How could anyone possibly like math so much? She tensed, worrying about how she was going to spend the rest of the year with this math-obsessed teacher. She couldn't stand it and he was in love with it.

"So has Liz ever actually...said anything to Pe- you guys?" Adelaide whispered to Ned who was sitting beside her. He sighed dreamily.

"No…" he sighed, "but there was this one time she glanced at us...Oh! There was another time when she smiled at us and we thought we were going to die. It was amazing."

Adelaide wrinkled her nose, wondering why they liked her so much. She looked pretty average to Adelaide. So she asked him just that.

"Why do you guys like her so much anyway?" she whispered.

"Liz...she's funny...smart...talented...nice...pretty…"

"Okay, yeah I get it," Adelaide grumbled, sorry she asked. Ned turned his attention back to Mr. Hans and, as usual, her mind drifted. She thought about how Peter and Ned were so infatuated with Liz. She was girly. Liz didn't fight crime or worry about how many bullets were left in her gun. Liz was the head of the decathlon team and wore skirts. She lived such a normal life and Adelaide was jealous of that. If hadn't been for...for whatever caused her to lose her memories or if that man hadn't killed her parents, she could be living a normal life. Maybe Adelaide would be head of the decathlon team and wear skirts everyday.

Adelaide sighed, looking out the window. Like she could ever be normal. There wasn't one thing in her life that was normal. The teenager wondered if there was ever going to be an end to all this. An end where she finally had all the answers. An end where she was truly happy.

"Tick, tock, Miss Rivers. The assignment isn't going to do itself," Mr. Hans said and Adelaide looked away from the window. Ned pointed at the assignment written on the board and Mr. Hans raised an eyebrow. Trying not to roll her eyes, Adelaide pulled out her notebook and began writing, hoping this class would be over soon.

* * *

Gym was hell.

Adelaide considered herself fairly fit. She ran at least 5 miles on the treadmill every morning and there was always a workout that followed. She was rarely out of breath so gym at school was never a problem for her. No, today, her problem was with the coach. Coach Graves. For some reason, every time she looked at him, she felt restless, as if something terrible was about to happen. Adelaide couldn't explain the feeling, but she hated it and she hated Coach Graves. Just the way he looked at her made her want to throw up in her mouth.

Last time she saw the man, she felt a sharp pain in her head and passed out. Everything had been a blur after that. The school had contacted Happy (who they knew as Harry) and he came to pick her up (wearing a disguise). Sometime during the car ride home, Adelaide woke up, but nothing was making any sense and her head felt like a ticking bomb. She rolled back into unconsciousness and then woke up the next day, in her bed at the Tower, sick with a high fever. It had taken 5 days for her fever to go away.

"Rivers, catch," Flash said, hurling a basketball at her. He had noticed that she wasn't paying attention and decided to throw the ball hard enough to embarrass her when she didn't catch it. Instead, Adelaide caught it without looking and tossed it back to him twice as hard. The ball hit his chest and Flash stumbled back a couple of steps before catching it.

"A little harder and I might have been lucky enough to break a rib," Adelaide said before turning away. Flash scowled, gripping the basketball. He had had enough with this girl. Who was she to embarrass him?

"I heard Mr. Hans is super strict," Peter said, dribbling his own basketball. He tossed it to Adelaide and she caught it. She raised an eyebrow at his statement.

"Pete, he gave us homework," she threw the ball to Ned, "On the first day."

Peter laughed, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Come on, he can't be that bad," Peter said, catching the ball.

"The man's crazy," Ned said, bending over to tie his shoelaces.

"Crazy in love with math," Adelaide said and Ned nodded, looking up. Suddenly, Coach Graves blew his whistle and everyone gathered around him, except Michelle who was sitting on the bleachers with a book in hand. Graves blew his whistle in her direction and she glanced up from her book.

"Do you need a special invitation?" he asked snarkily and Adelaide had the sudden urge to punch out his teeth. Michelle audibly groaned and then stuffed her book in her backpack and stomped down the bleachers. Graves watched her for a second before shaking his head.

"Alright, today we're gonna be practicing some martial arts moves," he said, rubbing his hands together, "Any questions?" Adelaide stared at the ground, refusing to look up. Graves cleared his throat.

"Eyes up here please," he mumbled and Adelaide glared at him. What was his deal? Did he have a problem with specifically her or was he like this with everyone? He smiled, satisfied.

"Let's get going, then."

Soon, they had the mats laid out and then Graves began pairing up people. Adelaide stood with her arms crossed, a sour expression on her face. She just wanted for this class to be over.

"...Leeds, you're with Book Lover over here. Parker, go with Lee," Graves said, walking down the line. He approached Adelaide with the permanent smirk that he always carried. It irritated her to the ends of the Earth.

"Adelaide, with Flash," he said and then walked past her. She resisted the urge to tackle him to the ground as Flash made his way over to her. He smirked, opening his mouth.

"Don't," she muttered and he rolled his eyes.

"Everyone, line up with your partners!" Graves said and Adelaide walked over to the closest mat with Flash trailing behind. She noticed that Peter was at the mat to her left and Ned was to her right with Michelle. Coach Graves stood in front of everyone with a mat of his own as his eyes scanned the class. He pointed to Lee, Peter's partner and gestured for him to come over. Lee gulped, nervously glancing at Peter before slowly making his way to Coach Graves. He stood on the mat, his hands shaking at his sides. Adelaide didn't blame him. Graves was easily scary-looking with his eyepatch and constant know-it-all smirk.

"Watch," he said to the class before facing Lee. In slow motion, Coach Graves grabbed Lee's arm, twisted it behind his back and then pinned the teenager to the ground. Adelaide winced. It didn't look like Graves was really hurting Lee, but Adelaide was suddenly reminded of the first time she met Tony. She had his arm pinned behind his back like he was some doll. She shook her head. That was different. She was different. Adelaide had promised herself to stop thinking about her past. She had to focus on the present.

Graves got off of Lee and the teenager stood up slowly, brushing his shorts off. He walked back to his mat and Peter patted his shoulder understandingly.

"Any questions?" Coach Graves asked.

Flash raised his hand. "Um, Coach?"

"No questions? Great, let's get going." Flash dropped his hand, glancing at Adelaide. She rolled her eyes and positioned herself on the mat.

"Tallest goes first," Graves said and then blew his whistle. Adelaide had Flash's arm twisted behind him before he had even caught up with the action. She smirked, pinning him down and pulling his arm a little more than necessary. Flash grunted.

"Alright, now get off," he grumbled. She rolled her eyes and stepped off. He stood up, stumbling away from her as he glared. Coach Graves blew his whistle again, turning his attention to him again.

"Now switch," he said, making a flipping gesture with his fingers. Adelaide caught Flash's eye. He had a knowing smirk on his face. Coach Graves blew his whistle again and Adelaide got into position. This time, Flash grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back rather clumsily. She rolled her eyes as he pinned her to the ground. Flash grinned and leaned down to her ear.

"What you're not going to faint again this time?" he asked. Adelaide's jaw tightened. "I always knew you were faint-hearted, weak, pathetic –"

Adelaide used her elbow and shoved it into his chest making him roll over. She stood up, pulling him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't pick a fight with me," she hissed and then she shoved his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. Adelaide watched him with disgust, turning around. He had no idea what she'd been through. Who the hell was he to call her weak and pathetic? Suddenly, her arm was twisted behind her. Adelaide shook her head before knocking her head back, making him release his grip on her arm. He grinned at her.

"Pathetic."

She pulled her fist back and punched his nose. His hands flew up covering his nose, but the blood still flowed down his chin. Adelaide tilted her head to the side.

"Loser," she said.

Adelaide turned around, noticing that everyone had been watching the little fight of theirs. Including Coach Graves. Adelaide stared back at Coach Graves as he smirked at her. Adelaide squinted. Was he...smiling?

"Coach, I think she broke my nose," Flash said, his voice muffled by the hand he had covered over it. Graves didn't look away from Adelaide, still grinning brightly.

"Grow a pair, Eugene."

* * *

An hour later, Adelaide was still confused why Graves hadn't punished her. She broke Flash's nose, that was definitely punishable. Although, another coach, Coach Harris had noticed the whole thing and gave Adelaide a detention, Adelaide still couldn't understand why Coach Graves looked so... _happy_ about it. What was it with that guy? He creeped her out.

"Everyone, find a partner," Mr. Danson, the Chemistry teacher, said. Adelaide scooted her stool closer to Peter's, her mind still elsewhere.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, noticing the frown on his friend's face.

"It's just the detention," she lied, waving her hand. Peter chuckled.

"No it's not. You couldn't care less about detention. What's really wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. She glanced at his hand and then back at him. He pulled it away, resting it in his lap. For some reason, she was suddenly reminded that Peter liked Liz. She shook her head. What did that have to do with anything right now?

"Open your textbooks to page 367 and conduct the experiment as it is written. Be careful of your measurements," Mr. Danson instructed. Peter flipped his textbook to the page, eyes skimming over the experiment. He grabbed a beaker and Adelaide absentmindedly grabbed the dishwashing soap.

"Come on, you can tell me," he said. Adelaide sighed.

"Didn't you find it weird how Coach Graves didn't get angry when I broke Flash's nose?" she asked, fiddling with the dishwashing soap in her hand. She picked at the loose paper on the side.

"Well, yeah, it was weird, but I think he was just trying to be funny," Peter said, pouring some colored chemical mixture into the beaker. He grinned, looking at her through his goggles. "Plus, Flash's face was hilarious."

"I don't know…" she said, opening the dishwashing soap bottle. Peter grabbed a pencil, writing something down in his notebook.

"Don't worry about it, Ada. If it wasn't for Harris, you would've gotten away with it," Peter said, glancing at the beaker. Adelaide sighed, resting her chin on her arm. He was right. Maybe Graves was just trying to be funny. Not many people liked him in the first place and maybe he was just trying to change that by being funny. People did that, right? Adelaide sighed again, pouring the dishwashing soap into the beaker absentmindedly.

"You're right," she mumbled. Peter grinned at her.

"See? I told you–Ada no!" She followed his wide-eyed gaze to the beaker which was now overflowing with foam and soaking all of their papers and making a mess on the table. Adelaide glanced at Mr. Danson who looked very angry. She winced, biting her tongue.

Adelaide caught Peter's eye who was holding back a laugh. She pulled her lips in, trying to do the same.

* * *

" _What!_ " Adelaide and Tony winced, trying to shield their ears from Pepper's high-pitched voice.

"Adelaide, it was the first day of high school. How in the world did you get detention?" She shrugged, trying to hide smile by looking down.

"I broke a guy's nose," she mumbled.

"You _what_?!" Tony laughed, holding his hand up for Adelaide to high-five. She clapped his hand, grinning before she caught the expression on Pepper's face. Adelaide and Tony both dropped their smile, clearing their throats.

"Adelaide, why did you break his nose?" Pepper asked, sighing. Adelaide shrugged.

"He was asking for it," she said.

"That is not acceptable. I'm talking to —"

"Honey, she said he was asking for it. I'm sure he was, right Adie?" Adelaide nodded fast, looking at Pepper. Pepper looked between the two, sighing for the third time.

"That's it," she said, "I can't win with you two." She began walking away, mumbling about how they always team up on her. Tony winked at her, patting her shoulder.

"Good job," he said and then rushed off to Pepper, trying to calm her down. Adelaide laughed to herself, walking over to the fridge to grab a coke. As she was popping it open, her mind drifted to Graves' reaction. She knew Peter believed he was just trying to be funny, but Adelaide couldn't help but think there was something more to it.

Even though he'd given her detention, Adelaide felt like Coach Harris' reaction was much more justified than Coach Graves. When a student broke another student's nose, the teacher gave that student detention. Not tell the other guy to 'grow a pair'. Maybe Peter was right and Adelaide was really just being paranoid. She hoped he was right. Adelaide had had enough of being confused.

"Adie, I need backup in here," Tony shouted from the next room. She could hear Pepper shouting. Adelaide shook her head, shaking away the thoughts. She had to stop thinking about it.

"Coming!" she said. She swallowed a big sip of coke, finishing it off and then she tossed it in the bin, rushing out of the kitchen.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Wow this chapter is super short and nothing really happens but it's still important somehow...I forgot where I was going with this. Anyway, I HAVE EXCITING NEWS! So over the past couple days, I've made a trailer for this fic and it would be SO AMAZING if you guys would check it out. I worked really hard on it and, not to brag or anything, I think it's pretty good. Well, for a two-day thing anyway.**

 **Here's the link, please check it out! I hope you guy like it! I'll put it in the first chapter, too so anyone can see it!**

 **watch?v=OapBMts_H6U**

 **With that aside, about this chapter. I'm sorry it's so short I just wanted to get it up today because I start school tomorrow and I wanted you guys to have something just in case I couldn't write much over this week...The next chapter should be up soon, although I haven't even started on it yet. Whoops. I haven't fully decided yet, but the next chapter is going to be BOMB because something TOTALLY UNEXPECTED happens and I been waiting for this for so longgggggg. I'm so excited. This 'Big Thing' is really gonna be the kickstart of Dawn of Truth, but it might not happen in the next chapter, or it might. I have no idea anymore. This chapter in particular is important because it mainly sets up the stage for the next Big Thing and there's a little bit of Peter and Adie in here which I love because they're literally perfect for each other when will they realize. I can promise it's not anytime soon lol.**

 **Fluffymarshmallows: Midnight review again? Lol you've gotta do something about that, though I'm definitely not complaining because I love reading your reviews and they're always so wonderful. Thank you for being so understanding and I'm like 99% sure I'm gonna finish this story. Unless I get hit by a meteor or something lol. Although, once school starts, that might not be such a terrible thing.**

 **Thank you to _Fluffymarshmallows_ and _Another_ _-_ _Tragedy_ for following/favoriting, or leaving a review in the last chapter! Your support means the world to me!**

* * *

 _"What do you_

 _call a_ _sleeping_

 _dinosaur?"_

* * *

Adelaide had noticed a pattern in her life. She never went too long without a problem occurring. There was always something.

"Don't forget," Mr. Hans said, "Complete the homework packet by tomorrow or I will take ten points off. I hope that for some of you, that lesson was learned last week." He looked at Adelaide while announcing the last part and the teenager could feel her face heating up. So she had forgotten to do the Algebra homework last week. What was the big deal?

"He hates me," she told Ned who shook his head.

"You know," Michelle said without looking up from her book, "that might be the first right thing you've ever said." Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"He's just very...specific," Ned explained, putting his books into his backpack, "He doesn't hate you." Adelaide huffed, slinging her backpack around her shoulders. She pulled her hair out from under the straps, straightening her jacket.

"Easy for you to say. He loves you," she said.

"He doesn't... _love_ me," Ned argued as they headed towards the door, waiting for the bell to ring.

"Then tell me why he gave you credit for the bonus question even though you got it wrong," she said. The bell rang and the two teenagers merged into the crowd, walking out of the classroom.

"He gave me credit for the attempt," Ned said, hooking his thumbs under his backpack straps.

"Ned, I did three bonus questions and missed all of them," she said. He shrugged.

"Well, the answer was 3 and you got _x_." She glared at him.

"Whose side are you on?" she asked.

"Oh look, there's Peter!" Ned exclaimed, happy for a distraction. Adelaide rolled her eyes, following her friend through the crowd.

"Hey," Peter greeted and the three began walking to their next class together, "What's wrong?" Adelaide frowned. Was she really that easy to read?

"Adelaide thinks Mr. Hans hates her," Ned said.

"No, I _know_ he hates me."

"I'm sure any math teacher in the building feels the same way," Peter teased and she smacked his arm.

"I'm starting to feel the same way about you," she grumbled and Peter laughed.

"Relax," he said, "I'm just kidding." Ned watched the two of them, amused. They never failed to make each other laugh. He couldn't help but noticed how they somehow always managed to lift each other's moods. As they approached the gym doors, Adelaide tensed. Coach Graves hadn't acted weird since the Flash incident, but, then again, Adelaide hadn't broken any more noses since then. Although, she had to refrain herself many times from breaking Flash's nose again. He still hadn't forgiven her for the first time.

After changing into her gym clothes, Adelaide joined the two boys by the bleachers. They were in deep discussion about Star Wars or something and Adelaide tuned them out, her eyes scanning the gym. She spotted Coach Graves talking to another coach. Graves looked bored and then he caught Adelaide's eye. She didn't look away and then he smiled like he knew something she didn't. God, she _hated_ that smile. She frowned and looked away, trying to focus on the boys' conversation. When she looked back at him again, he was gone.

By the time gym was over, Adelaide was ready for lunch. She hadn't spotted Coach Graves after the first time and she definitely wasn't complaining. She couldn't stand even being in the same room as him.

As the three of them headed over to their table with their lunch trays, Adelaide noticed the two boys' eyes were on the tv in the corner. She rolled her eyes when she saw Tony's face on it, wondering what he had done this time to make headlines. Then again, the press just needed an excuse to put Tony Stark on headlines.

" _... Stark industries donates a jaw-dropping sum of money to the Engineering Research Institution in uptown New York."_

That was probably Pepper's doing, always trying to put the company in good light, the limelight. That, and the fact that it was her job as CEO to do so. The three of them sat down, eyes still on the tv. Peter cursed, making Adelaide look away. He had dropped his fork.

"I'll go get another one," he mumbled, walking away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ned began shaking her arm. She looked at him in confusion.

"What is it?" she asked, pulling her arm away. He had a big grin on his face.

"You remember the surprise?" he asked. Adelaide cocked her head to the side.

"Um...Am I missing something here?" Ned rolled his eyes, the smile never leaving his face. Adelaide had no idea what he was talking about.

"You know! The surprise! Meeting Mr. Stark!" Adelaide's eyes widened, suddenly remembering her promise to Ned. She had promised that Tony would meet him and Peter, but she was hoping he'd forgotten about it by now. She laughed nervously.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Well when are we meeting him? I mean, it's been months since you said," Ned said. Adelaide bit her lip, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She couldn't lie to him again. She had felt terrible about it the first time and she wasn't too fond of doing it again. Especially not when he looked so hopeful.

"Um, soon." His smile fell.

"Soon?"

"You know what, I'll talk to my Uncle Ton-Timothy today," she said, knowing she'd regret it. Ned grinned again and opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when he saw Peter walking back. Ned gave her a thumbs up and the sinking feeling grew in her stomach.

See? She never went long without a problem.

* * *

The remainder of the day was spent worrying about the promise she'd made to Ned. What if they found out the truth? What if they found out that Timothy Lark didn't exist? How would she tell them everything? She trusted them, but there was no way she was ready to tell them about everything. Where would she even begin?

What if they found out she lived at the Tower? How was she ever going to explain that? What if she lost the only two friends she had because she wasn't ready to tell them the truth? She bit her lip, her heart about to beat itself right out of her chest. There had to be a way out of this. But then again...she didn't want to lie to Ned. He looked so hopeful. Besides, what more excuses could she make?

"You're doing it again," Peter said from beside her, measuring something. She sighed, twisted her chair around to face him. The Chemistry class had huge windows and there was never a shortage of light in the room. Outside, the wind was blowing hard, making the trees sway back and forth. She could watch them all day. Instead she picked up her pencil with another sigh and began tackling the equations.

"0.4," he noted and she scribbled the number down. Adelaide looked up, noticing that Peter was grinning at her.

"What?"

"Do you have a class with me, because we got Chemistry." Adelaide laughed lightly, shaking her head.

"Pete...that was so terrible," she said.

"What do you call a factory that sells good products?" She rolled her eyes, biting back another smile.

"Do I want to know?" He grinned.

"A _satisfactory_ ," he said.

"Seriously, stop," Adelaide said, laughing.

"What do you call a sleeping dinosaur?" he asked and she shrugged. "A dino- _snore_."

Adelaide laughed again, feeling her cheeks starting to hurt, but she didn't mind at all.

"What did one snowman say to the other snowman?" She looked at him, a bright smile on her face.

"What?"

"It smells like _carrots_ ," he said and they both laughed, looking at each other. Peter stopped laughing, settling for a smile. He pushed his glasses up.

"Did that help?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"I made you laugh, do you feel better?" For some reason, the smile wouldn't leave her face.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "thanks Pete."

As he went back to writing, Adelaide couldn't help but steal a glance at him every few minutes. There was something in the back of her mind that she couldn't grasp, but she shook her head, focusing on her assignment. She'd think about it later.

* * *

Tony was in his lab, as usual. They had to get it fixed after the whole Ultron and Vision destroying it thing. She pushed open the glass door, letting herself inside. As usual, the billionaire was too focused on his work to even notice. Adelaide looked around to room, noticing there were suit parts everywhere. She shook her head. This mess of wires never made any sense to her — she left that up to Tony.

She made her way over to his desk where he was hunched over a robotic arm.

"Hey, dummy, hold this here," Tony said without looking up. For a moment, Adelaide thought he was talking to her before she saw the robotic arm twist around.

"You know what? You're useless. I'll do it myself," he mumbled and the arm turned away, almost looking sad. Tony glanced at it, frowning.

"Don't even think about," Tony said and the arm dropped, twisting around. Adelaide cleared her throat, making Tony stop glaring at his robot arm.

"Did Pepper send you here? Because I didn't break her favorite vase, it was him," Tony said, pointing to the robot arm. Adelaide rolled her eyes, propping herself up onto the table.

"No, Pepper didn't send me. I need a favor," Adelaide said, pulling her lips in. Tony glanced at her before turning back to his work.

"Big? Small?"

"Medium."

"Shoot."

"Remember how I told you my friends are big fans of yours?" Tony hummed.

"Well I kinda...um…promised them that you'd meet them." He shrugged.

"Sure. When?" Adelaide felt her jaw dropping.

" _Sure?_ Tony, there are a million reasons why this is a bad idea!"

"And yet you promised them?" he asked sarcastically, making Adelaide groan.

"I had to," she said, holding her head in her hands.

"So let's meet them," Tony said.

"But what if they find out that I live here!" He raised an eyebrow.

"And the Stark Tower is a terrible place to live because…?"

"That's not what I mean," Adelaide said, "It's just...what if they find out? How am I going to explain everything to them? I'm not ready to tell them everything yet."

"Should've thought of that before promising them," Tony said and she threw a screwdriver at him which the robot caught swiftly. Tony looked surprised.

"Hey, you're good for something," he mocked and the arm seemed confused. Adelaide rolled her eyes. Tony and his metal.

"You have to help me," she groaned.

"I don't know what you want me to do," Tony said.

"I want you to meet them," she said, holding her breath. He glanced at her.

"But?"

"But you can't let them know I live here or tell them about the Blue Phantom or anything that will blow my cover, okay?"

"Well, you didn't leave much else to talk about," he joked. Adelaide glared at him.

"I'm serious, Tony."

"So am I," he said, hunched over something. Adelaide shook her head, jumping off the table. As she was about to reach for the door handle, she suddenly remembered something important. She looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, and Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"You're good friends with my Uncle Timothy Lark," she said and Tony frowned.

"I don't think I'd be friends with a guy named Timothy Lark. Not a very loyal guy. Does he like scotch?" Adelaide rolled her eyes with a smile as she pushed open the glass door and stepped out of the lab. She could just hope that they wouldn't find out the truth.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Wow I am so late. It took me an entire week to get this chapter out, but the most frustrating thing is that I would've had it out Friday if it weren't for my terrible planning of the chapter. Honestly, it's starting to get annoying but I don't have any time to work on that so I guess I'm going to keep stumbling through this story until I finally pull myself together. I am going to warn you guys that updates will probably be as slow as this from here on out because college has starteddddd. God, it has literally been four days (four days!) of college and I'm already behind on my work. College has so much reading and half the time I don't even know what I'm doing lol. And the fact that I'm doing early college doesn't make figuring things out easier. But yeah, if I'm gonna want to keep this story updated on time every week then I'm going to have to start making time for it in my planner because writing it on my phone in my bed before I fall asleep isn't very effective apparently. I can only get a couple paragraphs before I'm out like a lightbulb lol.**

 **Anyway, enough about me, let's talk about this chapter. Writing it, I kind of felt like it was all over the place but maybe that was just me. And it was probably because like 75% of the chapter has been cut and pasted. I've moved around entire scenes and dialogues and my 'bloopers' or 'deleted scenes' list is starting to grow freakishly long. I'm thinking about posting those at the end of this story, once it's all wrapped up. Hopefully, that's still a long ways down the road. I drifted off again. Back to this chapter. So, like I said, it's kind of all over the place but (I don't want to spoil anything) this is chapter where the Big Thing happens and now that it happened, I don't know what to do after this chapter, as usual. I always figure it out somehow so I guess it'll be the same frustration and hair pulling until I figure it out this time. I will say though, that after this chapter, nothing is ever the same again...**

 **Okay, last thing I want to say is how amazing you guys are because if it weren't for all my readers, I honestly don't think I'd still be posting this story and you all keep me motivated which is huge feat you probably don't realize because I'm easily unmotivated but I don't think I've ever loved a story of mine as much as I love this one and I don't think I've ever had these many amazing readers before ever.**

 _ **locky3670: Glad you like it!**_

 _ **Guest: Wow, I'm speechless. I'm sure if Ada was able to read that, she would be too. Thank you so much!**_

 _ **Flufflymarshmallows: Look at you! A review and it's not a midnight! *Virtual high-five* I know the last chapter was a filler, but I loved writing the scene with Tony and Adie lol. Their relationship is my favorite! Of course, you can't forget Tony's iconic robotic arm who's always there to spray fire extinguisher on him lol.**_

 **Thank you to: _locky3670, Flufflymarshmallows, Guest, xXDevilzXx,_ and _Alevyilan_ for favoriting/following or leaving a review in the previous chapter! You guys seriously are amazing and wonderful! Thank you so much for all your support and understanding and you guys truly mean a lot to me and Adie and this story.**

* * *

 _"Happy was_ _not_ _happy."_

* * *

Happy was not happy.

"So you broke this guy's nose?" Adelaide sighed, frustrated as she leaned her head back against the car seat. She looked at him through the rearview mirror.

"He was making fun of me, alright? And that was weeks ago, I already pain my detention for it," she grumbled.

"You got detention and didn't tell me!"

"Eyes on the road, Happs!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" he shouted and Adelaide rolled her eyes. Who knew he'd get so mad over something so small and irrelevant? The teenager realized that they had arrived at the school already.

"Hey I promise if I break another guy's nose, you'll be the first to know, okay?" Someone honked at them to move out of the way and Happy honked back angrily.

"I don't want you breaking any more noses," he said and Adelaide nodded solemnly. "But if you do...don't." Adelaide held back a laugh. Typical.

"Bye, Happs," she said, sliding out or the car.

"Don't get in trouble, kid," he said and Adelaide grinned, watching him drive away. She stood there a moment longer before turning on her heel and walking towards the school.

Suddenly, she heard someone shouting her name, making her turn around. Ned was jogging towards her, holding his backpack straps. He was out of breath by the time he got to her and then the two of them began walking together towards the school.

"So did your uncle talk to Mr. Stark yesterday?" he asked. Adelaide swallowed, remembering her conversation with Tony in his lab. He had agreed to meet them and keep her secret, but Adelaide was still very tense about the whole situation and she couldn't stop thinking negatively.

"He did," Adelaide said and Ned's face brightened up.

"What did Mr. Stark say?!" he asked. Adelaide glanced at her friend. He was practically bouncing with excitement and she sighed quietly.

"Well," she began, wondering how she was going to put it into words, "Tony said he would meet you guys." Ned whooped, jumping up and throwing his fist into the air. He caught the attention of several people around them and Adelaide shushed him.

"You can't tell everyone!" she exclaimed and Ned grinned sheepishly. They were inside the building now and they only had a couple minutes before the bell rang and they would be late to class. She looked around nervously, hoping no one could hear their conversation.

"When do we get to meet him?" he asked, trying to control his excitement. Adelaide pulled her lips in, tucking her hair behind her ears. She tugged at the hem of her sweater nervously. She glanced at Ned who looked ready to burst from excitement and then she sighed.

"He said he'd meet you tomorrow," she mumbled and Ned whooped again.

"Tomorrow! We're gonna meet Mr. Stark tomorrow!" he shouted and Adelaide had to shush him again.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" she asked, searching his face, "Not even Peter. At least, not until tomorrow." Adelaide sighed again, wondering how she would get herself out of this one. Why did stuff like this always happen to her?

"Cross my heart, I won't tell a soul," Ned said giddily, "Not even Peter." Adelaide nodded, taking a deep breath. She hoped nothing would go wrong tomorrow.

Then, the bell rang and the two teenagers rushed to class.

* * *

 _Boo!_

 _Come to my Halloween party tonight at 7 pm, the biggest party of the year and have a blast. Costumes required for entry._ _Be there, or be scared._

— _Flash Thompson_

Adelaide rolled her eyes at the flyer, pushing her way out of the crowd that was surrounding it. Everyone was gossiping about how Flash always threw the 'legendary' parties and that this was going to be 'the biggest party of the year'. Adelaide had to hold back a laugh when she heard someone say that the _New York Times_ reporter was going to be there. She couldn't understand how people believed that stuff. Someone said it, and now it's suddenly true.

Finally, she stepped out of the crowd. Adelaide shook her head, taking a deep breath. All that perfume and cologne was starting to give her a headache. As she began to make her way to the cafeteria for lunch, she saw Peter and Ned coming towards her from the corner of her eye.

"I think I'm getting better at martial arts," Adelaide heard Peter telling Ned as they got closer. The three had just finished gym and Adelaide finished changing earlier so she had come outside to wait for them. She couldn't stand being in the same room as Coach Graves for a second longer than she had to. He gave her the chills. The three walked through the cafeteria doors together.

"Pete, you could literally not be worse at martial arts," Adelaide said, shaking her head.

"I'm not _that_ bad," he argued and Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"You fell over while trying to swing a kick at Lee," she said and he scoffed.

"I didn't fall, I...tripped."

"Whatever makes you feel better about yourself," she muttered, pushing open the cafeteria doors.

"How are you so good, then?" he asked and Adelaide felt her face heat up. She swallowed, clearing her throat.

"I'm a fast learner," she muttered, "It's cold in here, isn't it?"

Peter didn't miss how his friend was quick to change the subject and how clear her lie was. He had known Ada for a while now and if there was one thing that he noticed about her, it was that she was a pro at martial arts way before they even started lessons. Peter knew Ada wouldn't tell him the truth if he asked, so he shook it off, thinking it was probably nothing. After getting their lunches, the three began walking towards their usual table.

"Did you hear about the party?" Peter asked, pushing his glasses up with one hand while carrying the tray in the other.

"Yeah," Adelaide said, "it sounds terrible."

"Terrible?!" Ned shouted, "Adelaide, there's going to be seniors there and I even heard Flash invited a _New York Times_ reporter." Adelaide laughed.

"You believe that?" Ned shrugged.

"I mean, it sounds really fun. Too bad Flash would never invite us," Peter said.

"Good. It's probably a lame party anyway," Adelaide said, taking her seat at their lunch table. Adelaide glanced at Michelle reading a book in the corner. Did she get a new book every day?

"Hey Michelle," Adelaide greeted. The curly-haired girl looked up from her book, blinking at Adelaide before returning her attention to her book. Adelaide rolled her eyes. One of these days, she was going to get a 'hey' out her.

"You're still coming over for the Chemistry project tomorrow, right?" Peter asked, pushing his glasses up.

"What project?" Ned asked.

"It's just this thing Mr. Danson assigned to us yesterday. We have to make this model," Adelaide explained, before turning to Peter, "What time?" He shrugged.

"Whenever. Ben and May aren't gonna be home this weekend."

"I'll talk to my aunt and ask," Adelaide said, sipping her water, "By the way –"

"Hey losers, hey Adelaide," Flash said, approaching their table and Adelaide audibly groaned.

"What do you want, Flash?" she said and he grinned annoyingly. It was as if he fed off her anger or he enjoyed having his nose broken by a girl who was smaller than him in size.

"I want you to come to my party," he said, handing her a card. She didn't even look at it, handing it back to him.

"And why would I want to come to your party?" He grinned.

"I could give you a few reasons," he said and Adelaide felt herself gagging. She glared at him.

"I'm not coming," she mumbled, turning away. Flash shrugged.

"I'm inviting everyone. Liz Allan said she'll be there with her friends and," he gloated, pausing, "I'm adding a special plus two, just for you."

Adelaide caught Peter's and Ned's wide eyes across the table and she sighed.

"I'm still not-ow! I'll...think about it," she grumbled, snatching the invitation he was still holding out.

"See you there," Flash said, winking at her and then walking away. Adelaide glared at Peter.

"What the hell was that for?" she said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not turning down an invite to a party with Liz Allan," Peter said and Adelaide rolled her eyes. He needed to get over the girl already. Adelaide bet Liz didn't even know Peter Parker existed.

"Well you two can go, I'm not going," she said, sipping her water.

"What! You have to come! Flash won't let us in without you! And, plus, it's the biggest party of the year," Peter said and Ned bobbed his head in agreement. Adelaide was getting tired of hearing that same phrase over and over again.

"Forget it. I'm not going."

"Please?" Peter and Ned said together and Adelaide rolled her eyes. She sighed.

"Fine. But I'm only going for a half hour. No more," she said, "And I am _not_ wearing a costume."

* * *

"A Halloween party?" Pepper asked, reading over the card. Adelaide nodded, switching the tv channel again. How come there was nothing good on the tv when she was watching?

"And you agreed to go?" Pepper asked, not believing the teenager was actually willing to go out and socialize. The woman sat down on the couch beside her, smiling.

"I'm only going because Peter forced me to go," Adelaide grumbled, throwing her head back on the couch.

"Peter, huh?" Adelaide threw a pillow at the woman, but she only laughed, catching it easily.

"Fine, I'll stop," Pepper said, laughing, "What's your costume?"

"I'm not dressing up. It's just stupid Flash anyway," the teenager grumbled.

"Adelaide Rivers," Pepper said suddenly, standing up, "There is no way I am letting you go to that Halloween party without a costume. Come on, let's go shopping."

And that was how Adelaide ended up walking down the streets of New York with a woman named 'Virginia' dressed in a trench coat with a thick scarf and sunglasses even though it was only 70 degrees out.

"You know, it very suspicious to wear sunglasses when it's not sunny, _Virginia_ ," Adelaide told her and Pepper shook her head.

"Do you want people to find out or not?" she snapped and Adelaide rolled her eyes. They approached a half-decent costume store and Adelaide begrudgingly dragged herself inside. When Flash had invited her, she hadn't even planned on going, but here she was, picking out a costume for the party. Flash was never going to let her hear the end of it and who was she doing all this for? The two dorks who were in love with a girl that barely knew their names.

Adelaide sighed, eyes scanning the racks although she was hardly paying attention. Any mention of Liz and Adelaide always felt annoyed, like something in the back of her mind had pegged Liz as a terrible person. Adelaide scoffed to herself, fingers running over some dresses. She didn't even know Liz, so it was pretty stupid to pretend like she did. But if Pete liked her, then she must be at least half-decent, right?

"How's this one?" Pepper asked, holding up Greek Goddess costume. Adelaide wrinkled her nose, frowning.

"Can I send Flash to the underworld if I wear that?" Pepper rolled her eyes at the teenager's comment, hanging the costume back on the shelf.

"How about a puppy onesie?"

"So people can call me a bitch?"

"Language!" Pepper shouted and Adelaide chuckled. She had thought it was a pretty funny joke.

"все в порядке! Okay!" Adelaide said, still laughing.

"I'm going over here, holler if you find anything," Pepper said with a sigh and Adelaide barely heard her, flicking through a rack of costumes.

"Глупый Flash и его глупая вечеринка," she mumbled to herself. This place was making her claustrophobic and it was hot and stuffy in here. Adelaide sighed, taking a step back from all the costumes. They were all too girly or frilly. What was she even doing here? She was Adelaide Rivers, the Blue Phantom. She was supposed to be out there kicking ass or training to kick ass, not trying on Halloween costumes.

"Can I help you?" Adelaide turned around, noticing the petite platinum blonde standing behind her. Adelaide glanced back at the costumes, sighing.

"Is there anything you're looking for in specific?" she asked. Adelaide hesitated.

"Do you have anything in...black?" the teenager asked and the platinum blonde smiled, gesturing for Adelaide to follow. Adelaide glanced back again before following after her. She led the teenager to a color coded section at the back of the store, to the corner with all the black costumes. Adelaide scanned the rack. Well, it was a start.

"Let me know if you need any help," the platinum blonde said before leaving Adelaide with the costumes. Adelaide looked through them, almost bored. There was nothing here either. This whole thing was pointless and a waste of time. With a shake of her head, Adelaide turned around, walking away. She glanced at the red section, noticing the single black costume hanging between the reds. If it hadn't been for the obvious leather, Adelaide wouldn't have gone for it.

She picked it off the shelf, examining it.

It was a leather catsuit, like Catwoman's. There was a belt at the waist to hold a gun and secret pockets for knives everywhere. Adelaide held the suit against herself, looking in the mirror. She put the cat ears on, smirking. Catwoman wasn't that bad. In fact, she kicked ass.

"Неплохо," she noted to herself.

"Hey, nice choice," Pepper said, making the teenager turn around.

"Yeah?" Adelaide said, pulling off the cat ears. She studied the suit in her hands, wondering if Tony could model her Blue Phantom suit after this one. Maybe they could a blue stripe along the side…

* * *

"So Halloween party, huh?" Happy asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. Adelaide sighed, looking out the window. The sun was shining, but was cool outside.

"It's the last place I want to be," she said, picking at her costume. Liz was probably dressed as a fairy or something that wasn't leather. Maybe Adelaide should have gone as a dirt bike racer. Tony wouldn't say no if she asked for a dirt bike. Then again, Pepper would. She frowned, sighing. Catwoman was badass enough.

"You're a teenager, kid. Teenagers mingle, socialize, act like they know everything," Happy said.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not anything like a normal teenager."

"You're moody, bossy, and stubborn. Sounds like a teenager to me."

"But Tony is all of those things, too," she replied and Happy couldn't find response to that so they just drove silently until they got to Flash's house. It was a big house with a large front yard and a pool peeking out from the back. Yet, somehow, it managed to look just as snobby as Flash.

Adelaide opened the door with a sigh, stepping outside. She could already hear the music and chatter from here and the party seemed to be in full swing. She had remembered people saying it was going to be 'the biggest party of the year'. Yeah, right. The teenager still believed that seeing Thor beat Steve in an arm wrestle or watch Tony fail to pick up Thor's hammer made a better party any day. She smiled to herself at the memory. It was their last peaceful moment before Ultron had come in and stomped on everyone's happiness.

Adelaide thanked Happy and began walking the up the path to the door when someone suddenly shouted her name, making her turn around. She squinted, trying to make out who the two figures running towards her were. Adelaide couldn't recognize them because of the costumes. When they got closer, she realized it was Peter and Ned who was dressed as a magician?

"What are you supposed to be?" she asked Ned who rolled his eyes.

"I'm Luke Skywalker," he said and Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"Star Wars!" he shouted like it was common knowledge. It's not like they cared she couldn't remember 13 years of her life, forget any movies she might have seen in that time. Then again, they had no idea she'd lost her memories...

"Oh...that," she mumbled. For some reason, she never found it as interesting as they did no matter how many times Peter made her watch it.

" _No way!_ Are you Catwoman?!" Peter asked, pointing to her costume. Adelaide nodded, glad someone didn't mistake her costume for just a cat. She eyed his costume, studying the mask in particular.

"Are you...Batman?" she asked and he nodded excitedly.

"What are the chances?!" he shouted and Adelaide laughed, giving him a high five.

"Come on," she said, glancing back at the door, "let's go so we can get out of here early." As she turned around, she heard Peter and Ned whispering about what Liz's costume could be and Adelaide found herself pushing the doorbell a little too hard. The door opened, revealing a pirate standing behind it.

"Ahoy scallywags! Wha're ye doin' here?" Suddenly, the pirate was pushed aside by Flash who was dressed as...well, the Flash.

"Collin, I told you to _not_ open the door," Flash grumbled.

"Hey Barry, looks like we came to the wrong party," Adelaide joked.

"Har, har," Flash said, rolling his eyes, "Come in." He opened the door wider and Adelaide missed how he stuck his tongue out at Peter and Ned as they followed in after her. Inside, the music was so loud Adelaide had to practically shout for Peter and Ned to hear her.

"What are you supposed to be?" Flash shouted.

"Catwoman."

"And Parker's Batman. How cute," Flash mocked and Adelaide rolled her eyes. She knew coming here would be a terrible idea. Flash pushed past her, making his way through the crowd.

"Do you see Liz?" Peter shouted to Ned. He shook his head and Peter's shoulders slumped.

"I'm gonna go get a drink!" Adelaide shouted, but the two hardly heard her and she rolled her eyes, making her way through the crowd. When she got to the drink table, it was safe to say she was a little disappointed. There was only fruit punch and it wasn't even spiked. Adelaide frowned, pouring herself a cup. She wondered if she had become an alcoholic but then shook her head, sipping her punch. She cringed at the sour taste of it.

Licking her lips, Adelaide turned around, looking for Peter and Ned. She couldn't find Ned, but she noticed Peter hovering around Liz who was dressed as an angel. Adelaide couldn't help but roll her eyes. How did he expect to ask her out if he couldn't even muster the courage to talk to her? Suddenly, someone touched Adelaide's leg, making her jump up, turning around. Adelaide lifted the tablecloth, bending over to look under the table. To her surprise, there was a librarian sitting there.

"Hey Michelle," Adelaide said, crawling inside. As usual, Michelle didn't return the greeting. Adelaide sighed, taking another sip from her too-sour drink.

"What're you doing here?" she asked. The girl shrugged.

"Flash doesn't now I'm here."

"So...you weren't invited?"

"No."

"And you snuck in?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

"So what's with you and Liz?" Michelle asked, making Adelaide suddenly jump.

"What?" she asked. Even in the dark, Adelaide could tell that the girl was rolling her eyes.

"You hate her."

"I don't hate her! She's just…"

"Everything you're not? A girl you could never be? Your best friend's crush? I could go on…" Adelaide scowled.

"No, thank you," she muttered through gritted teeth. She chugged her drink, cringing at the sour taste with each swallow. Did she hate Liz? Adelaide didn't even know her! Michelle was just being crazy; Liz was probably a great person and Adelaide was just a little annoyed by her, that's all. She definitely didn't hate her.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside and Adelaide glanced at Michelle before crawling out from under the table. The curly-haired girl just lifted the tablecloth up, peeking out. There was a crowd that Adelaide couldn't see past so she pushed her way through.

The chanting got louder.

" _Penis! Parker!_ "

Adelaide stumbled into the center where Flash had Peter pinned down. Peter had bruises everywhere and the look on his face told her he was in a lot of pain. Adelaide glanced behind herself, following Peter's gaze. She was she to eye with Liz who looked worried. Adelaide turned around, glaring at Flash. She scowled, instinctively marching over to Flash and pushing him off her friend. The chanting stopped instantly.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" she shouted and Flash laughed.

"Are you gonna break my nose again?" he asked with a grin. She glared at him.

"I'm thinking maybe a spine this time," she bluffed.

"It's my house," he said, almost asking her to come at him. She glanced back at Peter who had managed to stand up. He shook his head angrily and Adelaide let out a breath. She glared at Flash before storming out, taking Peter with her.

Once they were outside, Adelaide turned around, huffing. Somehow, Ned had found his way through the crowd and was standing next to Peter, holding him up.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Peter grunted, giving her a look. Adelaide winced.

"Yeah, okay," she mumbled, sighing. The three of them were quiet for a minute, staring at the road. They were a strange sight: a beat up Batman, Catwoman, and Luke Skywalker sitting on a front porch, staring at the road. Adelaide began laughing, making the other two look at her strangely.

"You think this is funny?" Peter asked. Adelaide shook her head, not being able to stop laughing.

"No, no," she said, catching her breath just to burst out laughing again.

"We look...We look ridiculous," she wheezed. Peter glanced at Ned, worried about their friend. He might have been the one to get beat up, but he was worried about her going crazy.

"Ada –"

"You...You're a beat up Batman...I'm a hysterical Catwoman...and...and then Luke Skywalker!" she said, bursting out laughing again. Peter found himself smiling and he began laughing too.

"I'm...I'm loser Batman," Peter joked, laughing. Adelaide nodded, her eyes tearing up.

"I'm Batman's sidekick, Luke Skywalker," Ned said and then he bursted out in laughter too. The three teenagers laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation until their stomachs started aching and they were gasping for air.

Then they quieted down, looking out at the setting sun. Adelaide sighed, leaning back against the wall. There were many thoughts running through her mind, but the reoccurring one was that she suddenly realized how grateful she was for these two dorks. Sure, they were a little stupid sometimes and they loved Star Wars so much it was an obsession at this point, but she didn't think there was any other dorks in the world that she would like as much as these two. Over the few months that she'd been here, they made living easier.

"We should probably go home," Peter said, still staring at the sunset. Adelaide and Ned nodded.

"I'll call Ben," Peter said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and wincing at the gesture. He dialed the number and stepped off the porch to talk, leaving Adelaide and Ned to continue staring at the sunset.

"I still can't believe we're going to meet Mr. Stark tomorrow," Ned said and Adelaide closed her eyes. It was fine as long as she wasn't thinking about that. There were so many things that could go wrong tomorrow. She should cancel it, make up another lie. She glanced at Ned and then sighed. She couldn't do that to him. She had just been thinking about how grateful she to have him as a friend, she couldn't lie to him again. Especially not when he was so excited about tomorrow.

"Do you think he'll wear his Iron Man suit?" Ned asked. Adelaide glanced at him sideways.

"Do you want him to wear his suit?"

"Of course!"

"Then he'll wear it." Ned grinned, looking happier than she'd ever seen him and Adelaide found herself smiling slightly. She'd made him so happy.

"Ben's coming," Peter said, walking up the porch steps.

"Hey!" Ned suddenly shouted, "I just had the best idea."

Adelaide and Peter glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

"What's that?" Peter asked, leaning against the railing.

"We should all have a sleepover tonight. We can watch scary movies! You know, Halloween!" Adelaide considered it. It wasn't a terrible idea. Tomorrow was Saturday so they didn't have school either.

"You had me at scary movies," Adelaide said, making Ned grin. She loved watching horror movies. They always got her heart racing and, sometimes, it was hilarious to see how stupid the characters could be.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Peter said, "Ben's on his way here, we can all just go to my house."

Adelaide nodded.

"Let me just tell my aunt that I'm going," she said, pulling out her phone and stepping off the porch.

"I'll call my mom, too," Ned said. Adelaide dialed Pepper's number, holding the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Pep, how's the Tower without me?" Adelaide asked.

"Quieter," Pepper joked, "How's the party?"

"A bummer. Pete got in a fight with Flash and, well, he lost. Anyway, so Ned and I were gonna go to Pete's house to sleepover. Watch some horror movies and other Halloween stuff. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Have a blast. Just not too much," Pepper said and Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Why does everyone always say that? I can handle a little fun or freedom," the teenager said the woman rolled her eyes.

"If you say so. Well, call me when you wake up tomorrow morning. I'll let Tony know you're gonna spend the night out."

"Thanks," Adelaide said, "You're the best, Pep."

"Not if you keep using that nickname."

"Bye, Pep," she said with a smile.

"Bye, Adelaide," Pepper said sternly, though Adelaide could hear the smile in her voice.

As Adelaide was putting her phone in her pocket, she realized that Ben was already here and Peter and Ned were inside the car. Adelaide smiled, making her way to the car. She waved at Ben through the window, opening the backseat door.

"Hey Ben," Adelaide said, closing the door once she was inside.

"Hey kiddo, heard the party was a bummer," he said, glancing at Peter. She chuckled.

"I told them we shouldn't go, but they forced me to." Peter and Ned glared at her and she smiled. She had the right to say 'I told you so' at least once tonight.

"Well I think the sleepover idea is brilliant. It's Halloween, after all," Ben said, pulling the car out of the driveway. A little drive later, they were at the Parker residence. Adelaide stepped out of the car, stretching. This catsuit was really tight.

"Do you like scary movies?" Peter asked as they walked up to the door. Adelaide grinned.

"Love them," she answered.

"Good," Peter replied as the door opened. "Because we're gonna be watching a lot of them."

"Hey guys!" May said, lighting up at the sight of them. "Come in!"

They all walked inside, grateful for the warmth. It was only September, but the cold wasn't holding off. They did live in New York, after all.

"Peter! Goodness! What happened to you?" May shouted. Peter glanced at Adelaide who gave him a thumbs up.

"Pete here tripped down the stairs," Ben said, winking at Peter. He smiled, grateful.

"Honey, you've got to start being more careful," May said, ruffling Peter's hair, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Sorry, May."

"I'll go get the first aid kit," she said, hurrying down the hall.

"Thanks Uncle Ben," Peter said, grinning sheepishly. Ben patted his shoulder.

"That's what I'm here for, kid," Ben said, "You kids go have fun, May and I are gonna watch a scary film of our own. You kiddos need anything?"

"Thanks Uncle Ben, but I think we're good," Peter said.

"Alright, then. Have fun," he said and then disappeared down the hall. Peter turned to Ned and Adelaide.

"You two go find the movies you wanna watch, I'll be up with the popcorn in a few minutes," he said and the other two nodded, heading upstairs. Adelaide easily found his room, having been here a million times for her math homework. She pushed the door open, walking inside. Adelaide tossed her phone onto the table, taking a seat in the rolling chair.

"You know where the movies are, right?" Adelaide asked Ned. He grinned, pulling open the last drawer of the dresser. It was filled to the brim with movies and video games.

"You can never get bored in here," Ned said, shifting through the movies. Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"How does he get any work done with all these movies?" she asked and Ned laughed.

"You have to learn to multitask. It's a skill, really. How's this one?" he asked, holding up a horror movie. Adelaide squinted, reading the title. _Scream_.

"Sounds lame," she said and Ned rolled his eyes. His friend wasn't easily impressed by anything. He was yet to find something that did impress her.

"So how many times have you met Mr. Stark?" Ned asked, still looking through the movies. Adelaide cleared her throat, looking at anything but her friend.

"A few," she answered after a moment. Ned didn't miss the vagueness of her answer, but he shrugged it off.

"Is he cool? I mean, obviously he's cool, he's the Tony Stark, but is he cool just like from the news?"

"A little egoistic, but he's not so terrible," she said, hiding a smile. If only Ned knew.

"Wow," he grinned, "I still can't believe we actually get to meet him tomorrow. It's going to be the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I hope it is," Adelaide said quietly. They were silent for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Although, all Adelaide could think about was how grateful she was that Ned couldn't look inside her head and read her thoughts.

"You pick a movie, I'll be right back," he said suddenly, standing up. Adelaide shrugged.

"Okay," she said as he shut the door on his way out. She got out of the chair, looking through the movies.

 _The Living, Corpses, Clown Major, Scared to Death, Boo!_

Adelaide grinned at the last one, pulling it out of the drawer. Maybe it was the cheesiest of them all, but she was in the mood for something cheesy. She stood up, tossing the movie on the table. As she was about to head downstairs to check up on Peter, she caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror. The catsuit looked amazing, maybe even a little better than the suit Tony had made for the Blue Phantom. He said it was still a prototype, but he never had time to improve it more.

She brought up her hand, bending her fingers as she felt the familiar energy coursing through them. Adelaide grinned at the feeling. It had been a while since she'd felt it. When she opened her eyes, she was the Blue Phantom with the iconic white bob and glowing blue eyes. Her lips were set into a thin like, eyes narrowed, and cheekbones high. She looked dangerous and she liked it.

Adelaide eyed the catsuit, adding a glowing blue stripe along the side. She grinned, turning around. This was definitely better than her current suit. She adjusted the belt around her waist, adding a pistol and an electrocutor.

She held out the imaginary pistol in front of her, aiming at herself in the mirror.

"Hands above your head," she whispered, making her voice cold and dangerous. Adelaide grinned, putting the gun back in her waist belt.

And then, everything went completely and utterly wrong.

The door opened silently and it was too late by the time Adelaide realized. Ned caught sight of the Blue Phantom and dropped the chocolates in his hand. His eyes widened, mouth falling open. Adelaide quickly turned herself back into Adelaide before she realized her mistake. Ned gasped, looking ready to faint.

"Y-Y-Y-You!" he shouted, pointing to her. Adelaide winced, trying to get her friend to be quiet.

"Ned, listen to me," she started. Ned shook his head violently.

"Y-Y-You're the Blue Phantom!" he shouted.

"No! No, I'm not!" Adelaide said, shaking her head. "It was just my costume! I'm not the Blue Phantom! I don't even know who she is!"

"You're the Blue Phantom! My friend..." he whispered, breathless, "Blue Phantom...No way…"

"Ned."

"Blue Phantom...you…"

" _Ned_."

"How...you...Blue Phantom?"

" _Ned!_ " Adelaide shouted, finally making him look at her. He blinked at her.

"You're the Blue Phantom!" he repeated, "From Sokovia! My friend! A superhero!"

There was no way she could have ever been able to explain this. Nothing she could've said would be believable enough for Ned. She had screwed up, big time.

Suddenly, Peter walked into the room, holding a huge bowl of popcorn. Ned and Adelaide continued to blink at each other, making Peter looking between the two of them, munching on the popcorn.

"Is everything...okay?" he asked. Adelaide looked away from Ned, swallowing.

"I have to go," she suddenly said, grabbing her phone.

"What? Why?" Peter asked, confused.

"I just...I have to go," she said, pushing past and stumbling out of the room. She air in her lungs was getting thin. She heard Peter calling her name behind her, but she stumbled down the stairs, trying to get out of the house. May caught the teenager as she almost fell down the stairs.

"Adelaide? Honey, is everything okay?" Adelaide tried to say something, but no noise came out of her throat. She shook her head, biting her lip.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," she croaked, and then she pulled away, pushing open the door. The cold air outside nipped her face, turning it red instantly. Adelaide quickly walked away from the house, hurrying down the sidewalk until she couldn't see the house anymore.

Her phone began ringing in her hand. Peter. She ended the call, cutting off the noise. Instead, she dialed someone else, holding the phone up to her ear.

 _"Hey, kid."_

"Can you come pick me up?" Adelaide said. Her question was quiet and Tony instantly heard the slight shaking in the teenager's voice.

 _"Weren't you were sleeping over at your buddy's?"_ he asked and Adelaide took in a deep breath, looking at the house across from her.

"I just need you to pick me up."

 _"5 minutes,"_ he said and Adelaide hung up.

She bit her lip hard, wondering how she had messed up so badly and how in the world she was going to fix it. She'd been so careless, so stupid. It was her fault she had let her secret slip. Now Ned knew and there was no undoing it. He was going to ask questions that Adelaide didn't have the answers to.

A chilly Halloween breeze swept by and Adelaide wrapped her arms around herself, shivering under her Catwoman costume.

* * *

 **A/N: There it is! There's the big thing! How many of you saw this coming, eh? I have no idea what's gonna happen after this, but I'll figure it out, I always do lol. If not, I'll just go bother my friend with questions until she helps. I do have a general idea of where this is going and I'm so excited for that toooo. We're _finally_ making it to the good part. I feel like it's been a year of this story already even though it hasn't. **

**Anyway, tell me what you think of this big plot twist, I'm super excited to see your reactions!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I can't believe I actually got this done on time. I've actually been drowning in work all week long and 5 hours of sleep just doesn't cut it, apparently.**

 **Alright! So the last chapter, we got to see some (hopefully) surprising action. I read your reviews and I loved your reactions! I really thought that I had made it too obvious and you guys had seen it coming, but, hey, I guess I had done better than I thought! Although, I had done the whole Ned getting hints about Adelaide and Tony just to divert your attention when he found out that she was the Blue Phantom. Just one of the tricks I had up my sleeve...Anyway, so this chapter is a little less climatic than the last one. To be honest, most of this chapter is just Adelaide sulking over the last chapter and trying to make up her mind. So, there's not much but it's important. I've actually been waiting to write the last scene of this chapter since even before Age of Ultron so I'm super excited about that even though I kind of got writer's block towards the end.**

 **I have an idea for what I want in the next chapter and I would tell you my plans for this timeline, but I don't want to spoil this chapter so I guess I'll just tell you guys that in the next author's note just so we can be on the same page. I will say that the next chunk of this story is mainly gonna be like a hybrid of Dawn of Truth and the Spider-Man origin story.**

 _ **Guest: I'm glad you like that Ned found out first. I agree with you; a lot of stories have Peter be the first to find out but I feel like Adie needed someone her age to talk to about this and, also, now Ned can be her 'guy in the chair' lol. That's my favorite reason for that haha. A little hint to the next chapter, Ned will be a huge help to Adie here on out.**_

 _ **locky3670: Haha I'm glad I was able to surprise you! I really thought that I had made it too obvious, but I guess everything worked out fine!**_

 **Thank you to: _Guest, locky3670, lizlil, FanQuiet1991,_ and _CarthageProject_ for following/favoriting or leaving a review in the last chapter! I have the best readers!**

* * *

 _"Or what about Captain America?_

 _Does he actually look old?"_

* * *

Adelaide grunted, throwing a punch. She was drenched in sweat, breathing hard. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with her arm, shaking her head. Adelaide positioned her feet again, gritting her teeth as she eyed the punching bag.

"Так!" ( _So!_ )

Punch.

"ебаный!" ( _Fucking!_ )

Punch.

"глупый!" ( _Stupid!_ )

 _You're the Blue Phantom!_

She growled, punching the punching bag so hard, she felt the vibration travel through her arm.

 _From Sokovia!_

Adelaide spun around, hitting the bag again. Her entire body was burning with energy. She was seeing spots in her vision, yet all she could see was the punching bag in front of her.

 _My friend! A superhero!_

She kicked the bag angrily, smashing it as it came swinging back. She swung her leg around, landing another hard kick on it. It swung backwards. When it came back, she began punching it as hard and fast as she could. She focused on the punches, the movement of her hands, the sweat rolling down her face.

 _You're the Blue Phantom! From Sokovia! My friend!_

Adelaide growled angrily, throwing her last punch as hard as she could. Then she slumped over, leaning against the railing. She stared at the punching bag, seeing flashbacks of last night. How could she have been so fucking careless? She had one job. One fucking job.

Adelaide heard the door opening, but she didn't acknowledge it, knowing exactly who it was.

"Go away," she grumbled. Tony stepped over the rope, coming inside the ring. She glared at him and he just blinked in oblivion.

"что ты хочешь?" ( _What do you want?_ ) she mumbled.

"Okay, you've been acting like a little demon ever since I picked you up last night. So shoot. Talk to me. Confess. Spill it. Spill the beans, kid." Adelaide sighed, picking her water bottle off the floor. She began to chug it, to avoid answering any questions. Tony rolled his eyes and then snatched the bottle out of the teenager's hand.

"Hey!" she shouted, wiping the water off her chin with her arm.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked sternly. Adelaide glared at him, turning around and grabbing the towel to wipe her face.

"Adie, come on," he said and she sighed.

"Nothing happened yesterday," she told him and then turned away again. Adelaide glanced at her phone, scrolling through. There were at least a 100 missed calls from both Peter and Ned. She frowned, turning her phone off.

"You're not half as good at lying as me," the billionaire said, stepping in front of her, "So quit stalling and tell me what happened." His voice was quiet, but he didn't sound angry. In fact, he sounded worried. Adelaide stared at the ground, swallowing. God, she felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

"I screwed up yesterday, okay?" she said and then turned around, stepping out of the ring. Tony grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"What'd you screw up this time? Please don't tell me it was my Maserati." She pulled her arm out his grip, glaring at him. Was he ever serious?

"It wasn't your Maserati," she grumbled. Adelaide tightened her jaw at the thought. She felt humiliated and she had no one to blame but herself.

"Did you kill a man? I mean, what? What is it? Just tell me." Adelaide sighed, rubbing her face. She suddenly realized how tired she was. She hadn't been able to sleep all night.

"I let my secret slip. Ned knows I'm the Blue Phantom," she said quietly. Tony didn't say anything for a while, making the teenager look up. To her surprise, he looked confused.

"That's it?" he asked and Adelaide felt her jaw dropping.

" _That's it?!_ " she shouted, "Tony, he knows! Just because the whole world knows you're Iron Man doesn't mean I want the whole world to know I'm the Blue Phantom, okay?"

"What? No! Look, what I'm trying to say here is, do you trust this guy?" Adelaide closed her mouth, looking at him curiously. She tried to process his statement in her mind.

"What?" was all that came out.

"He's your friend. Do you trust him?" Adelaide considered it. Did she trust Ned? Yeah, of course, but on what level? Sure, she trusted him to not cheat off her test, but did she trust that he wouldn't tell her secret to everyone else? Could she?

"I...I don't know." Tony blinked at the teenager.

"Alright, look. Do you see him as the kind of guy to go around telling people your secret after seeing the way you reacted when he found out?" Adelaide considered his question. Ned wouldn't do that, would he?

"I don't think so?" Tony patted her shoulder.

"Problem solved. You should trust him," the billionaire said, looking proud of himself rather than the teenager, "I'm not as terrible at this as I thought."

"You're still pretty bad," she said and he rolled his eyes. Tony ruffled her hair and then stepped out of the ring, walking out of the workout room. Adelaide sat down, holding her head in her hands, sighing.

How was she even supposed to face him again?

Suddenly, her phone rang again and she picked it up, staring at the name. Letting out a breath, she pressed the green button, holding the phone up to her ear.

" _Ada?! Oh my god, thank god you're okay. I was so worried that something happened to you and especially after you ran out like that without an explanation and it must have been at least a million times I've called you since last night, why weren't you answering my calls? May and Ben were so worried and I tried calling your aunt and then I realized I didn't have her number so I kept trying to reach you but you just wouldn't pick up. Do you have any idea how worried we all were? How much we tried to contact you? You could've just sent me a message telling me you're okay. Here I was redialing your phone number like an absolute idiot. I should have know you weren't going to pick up. You never tell me anything that's going on in your life, I should just stop bothering."_

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adelaide asked, frowning.

" _That's all you got from everything that I just said?"_ he asked, sounding exasperated.

"No, I heard the rest." There was silence for a moment.

" _So?"_ he asked.

"So?" she repeated.

" _Ada!"_

"Okay, okay, fine. I'm sorry. You're right, I should've texted you. It's my fault, I'm sorry. I was just so angry that I couldn't think straight," she said before realizing her slip up.

" _Why were you angry?"_ She sighed, cursing at herself. She was a screw up. She couldn't do one thing right. Not one.

"I...uh, stubbed my toe," she said, wincing. The first thing she could think of was _that_? Adelaide sighed.

" _Um, what?"_

"Look, Pete, that's not important. What I do want to know is what you mean by 'never tell you anything in my life'. I tell you stuff," she argued.

" _Ada,"_ he said sternly, " _don't change the subject. What happened last night? Why were you angry?"_

 _Because Ned found out that I was the Blue Phantom._

She scoffed to herself. If only it were that easy.

"Can we not talk about that? I don't really want to think about it," she said, hoping that would be enough. Her mind was blank — she couldn't think of a single lie that excused her behavior last night. Maybe she'd come up with something later, but right now she needed to steer clear of that topic. She heard Peter sighing.

" _Fine. But don't think I've forgotten it."_

"Thanks, Pete." The two were silent for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Adelaide's mind swirled with confusion. One moment, she felt as if she could tell Ned everything. Everything. About her memories, her strange abilities, even her parents. But then the next moment, she was closed again. She was unsure of herself. She knew she'd have to face him sometime. And he was bound to ask questions that she didn't have the answers to. In fact, today was supposed to be the best day of his life, he had said it himself. Tony was going to meet the two today, just like she had promised them. But now everything was a mess and Adelaide didn't know where to begin cleaning it up.

" _Ada? You still there?"_ came Peter's voice.

"Yeah, I'm still here," she answered.

" _I hate to bring this up now, but…"_ She sat up, suddenly alert.

Did Ned tell him everything? Of course he did, they were best friends. Oh God, now Peter knew too. How was she going to answer to both of them? Maybe she should just end the call right now and move away to Malibu. Then she'd never have to face either one of them again. But what about Tony and Pepper? And Happy? What would she do without them?

" _We still have to finish that Chemistry project that's due Monday,"_ he said and Adelaide let out a relieved breath, wanting to smack Peter Parker on the head for almost giving her a heart attack. He was lucky he wasn't standing next to her right now or she just might have hit him. She took a moment to catch her breath which had gone completely out of control.

"Do we have to do it today?" she asked. She wasn't in the mood for atom modeling after the incident last night. In fact, the only thing she was in the mood for was chocolates.

" _It's due Monday, we have to finish it today."_

"But –"

" _What if I came over to your house?"_ he suddenly suggested. Adelaide's eyes grew wide. Her house? As in the Tower? The _Stark_ Tower? She shook her head, blurting out yet another excuse.

"My um, aunt and uncle aren't home and I'm not allowed to have people over when they're not around," she lied. That wasn't a terrible lie. Although, it make her feel terrible. She was just spitting out lie after lie. Why did it have to be so complicated?

" _Oh,"_ he said, " _Well, I guess you can come over to my house. Ben and May aren't home, but they won't mind. In fact, sometimes I think they love you more than me."_ He chuckled. Adelaide smiled. Peter was lucky to have an aunt and uncle who cared so much for him.

"It's because I'm more loveable," she teased.

" _Yeah, right,"_ he mumbled, " _So are you coming over or am I going to have to do this all by myself? I gotta tell you though, I'm terrible at crafts."_ Peter knew she was in a good mood now, but the curiosity was killing him. He had to know what happened last night. Maybe he would be able to get her to tell while they were working on the project together. He doubted Ada would tell him anything until she wanted to, but it was worth a shot.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she sighed.

" _See ya."_

Adelaide hung up the phone with a long sigh. Who knew keeping a secret could be so tiring?

* * *

 _Knock, knock!_

Adelaide dropped her hand, shoving it in her coat pocket. The weather kept getting colder, but the snow was yet to fall. It was constantly windy and the cold air always turned Adelaide's nose red like a traffic light. She hated getting stuck in the cold, but she couldn't complain. It was November in New York, it wasn't like it was going to be hot and sunny anytime soon.

She let out a breath, watching the small puff of air as she did. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing Peter.

"Hey, come in," he said. She stepped inside, grateful for the warmth. The Parker residence wasn't big or extravagant, but it was cozy and Adelaide would take that over any sort of luxury any day. She pulled off her coat and hung on the coat rack by the door, rubbing her hands together. Even though she loved Ben and May, she was glad they weren't home. Otherwise, they would have asked a million questions. Peter eyed his friend with amusement as she shivered.

"Do you want me to turn up the heater?" he asked.

"No, thanks," she muttered. With a shrug, he began heading upstairs to his room and Adelaide followed behind. Suddenly, it struck her that Ned might still be here after their sleepover from last night. She panicked, almost missing the next step of the stairs. She stumbled, catching herself just in time by grabbing ahold of the railing. Peter turned around.

"Are you okay?" he asked curiously. She seemed very jumpy.

"No — Yeah, I'm fine. I just...is Ned still here?" she asked, hoping it wouldn't be too obvious. Luckily, Peter didn't seem to pick up on anything.

"No, he left hours ago. Said he was in a rush or something," he mumbled and then began walking again. Adelaide let out a breath, relieved. Peter opened the door, revealing a total mess inside. There were empty chips bags, empty cans of Coke, scattered popcorn…He chuckled.

"Sorry about the mess, I never got around to cleaning it after last night," he said and Adelaide nodded.

"I figured," she muttered.

"So...did you guys have fun?" she asked innocently. Peter nodded, clearing his desk of candy wrappers.

"We watched like, 7 movies and I don't think I can't even count how many bags of popcorn we ate," he said with a small laugh, looking around the room, "Actually, I think we can."

He began collecting the bags of popcorn around the room, counting aloud. Adelaide rolled her eyes, glancing around the room. So Ned didn't tell Peter. Maybe that was a good sign. She twisted her fingers together anxiously.

"Did...Was Ned acting...different?" she asked. Peter stopped, bent over as he was picking up another bag from under his bed. So his suspicious had been right. Something had happened between her and Ned and that's why she had run out like that. He stood up, clearing his throat.

"Now that you mention it, he was acting a bit jumpy…" Peter answered, "Did something happen between you two?"

Adelaide kept her face impassive, although she was frustratedly screaming on the inside. How had this all gotten so complicated?

"No, nothing," she answered. Peter sighed, shoving the popcorn bags in the trash.

"Ada, what's going on? You can tell me," he said, stepping closer. Adelaide shook her head.

"There's nothing to tell. Ned and I...we, um got into an argument, that's all," she said quickly. She swallowed, hoping he would buy that lie. He looked confused.

"Over what?" She racked her brain for yet another excuse.

"It was silly. He just said my catsuit looked, um...ridiculous and I got angry and...yeah," she said quietly. Peter began laughing.

"That's it?" he asked, "That's what this was all about?" She nodded weakly. She was beginning to hate lying to everyone. Especially her friends.

"Why don't you just call him?" Peter asked. He was suddenly in a much better mood, knowing there wasn't anything seriously wrong with his friend. Adelaide frowned, shrugging.

"I'll do that later. We have to finish the project now," she said, setting her bag down by the door, "I'll make a sketch of the model and you get the materials."

"Yes, ma'am," he mocked and then left the room to get the materials. Adelaide rolled her shoulders and sat down at the desk, pulling out her notebook and beginning to draw the sketch.

After a while, Peter came back with all the materials and they both worked together for the rest of the afternoon, avoiding the topic of last night. They finished as soon as it started to get dark outside and the wind died down a little. Adelaide helped him clean up the mess in his room and then they both collapsed on the chairs, worn out from all the Chemistry and crafts.

"You know," Peter said, staring at the ceiling fan, "you should call Ned. He probably feels terrible."

"Yeah?" Peter nodded.

"Ned will say sorry even if it wasn't his fault," Peter said with a small laugh, "Just call him, I'm sure he's dying to talk to you." Adelaide sighed, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, okay," she said.

* * *

It was late. Tony and Pepper were long asleep, but sleep was rarer than gold for Adelaide. She was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, staring at the wall in front of her. Although, her mind was completely elsewhere, wandering.

She twisted the hem of her shirt around her hand, wondering if she should take Peter's advice. In fact, that's all she had been thinking about since she got home. Even though Peter only thought she and Ned were just having a silly argument, there was some sense to his words. If she knew anything about Ned, it was that he was probably dying to talk to her. Knowing how much he loved superheros, he was also probably dying to ask her a ton of questions. If anything, he was probably ready to burst from excitement and anticipation.

But Adelaide definitely was not. It wasn't easy for her to tell someone the whole truth. She had had a hard enough time telling the Avengers and they were the _Avengers_ for crying out loud. This was Ned. Ned. One of her best friends. She should tell him, right? Besides, he already knew half of the truth already anyway. Albeit, it was totally her fault and she couldn't blame anyone but herself for the slip up, but it was too late to fix it now, even though she'd thought of a millions ways to do so. She had to focus on the present, the truth.

The truth was that Ned already knew and she couldn't avoid him forever. Adelaide sighed, falling back onto the bed. She turned her head to look at the clock on the wall. She was making it too complicated. It was Ned. She should just tell him. Even though it was one am. Adelaide reached for her phone before she could change her mind again and spend yet another hour in a dilemma.

She held up the phone to her ear, suddenly remembering that he was probably awake for the movie marathon on tv he was telling her about earlier this week. Adelaide closed her eyes, wanted him to pick up but also not wanting him to. Finally, she heard his familiar voice.

" _Adelaide?"_ he said, sounding excited.

"Don't freak out on me," she injected quickly before he could start rambling her ear off.

" _I-I wasn't going to freak out. My best friend is a superhero. She's the Blue Phantom who fights with the Avengers. Why would I freak out?"_ he said, his voice slightly shaky from the excitement. Adelaide felt a small smile tugging at her lips.

"You didn't tell anyone, did you?" she asked quietly.

" _Of course not! I haven't told a single person!"_ Adelaide nodded.

"Thanks, Ned."

" _But you gotta to tell me everything. I'm dying from being kept in the dark. I need to know. My best friend's superhero!"_

" _Shh!_ " she shushed him, wondering if there was anyone around him who might have heard.

" _Right. Sorry. My best friend's a superhero,"_ he said again, whispering this time.

"Listen. Top priority. No one else can know. Okay?"

" _Yes. Got it. Deal. No one will know. Wait, who else knows?"_ he asked. Adelaide winced. See, it was questions like this she wasn't really looking forward to.

"The Avengers," she said.

 _Pepper_... _Happy_ …she added in her head.

" _That is so cool! Adelaide you have like, the coolest life! I can't believe my best friend's a superhero! You're the Blue Phantom!"_

"Ned!" she shouted.

" _Don't worry, it's just me. No one else is around."_

"Be careful, Ned. I'm serious."

" _So what's it like? Do you get to say cool stuff like Back off! or Hands in the air! I bet you've never lost a fight before…"_ Adelaide was suddenly reminded of Rosie and she glanced at the doll sitting on the shelf to calm her heart down.

"Ned."

" _I wonder what it's like to fight with the Avengers. Is the Black Widow as scary as they say she is? Or what about Captain America? Does he actually look old? Oh! And Mr. Stark! So you_ have _met him a lot of times! No wonder!"_

" _Ned_."

" _Does Timothy Lark actually exist? How did you get your powers? Were you born with them? Oh! Were you abducted by an alien ship like that kid Peter Quill and then the aliens gave you your powers? What did you —"_

" _Ned!_ " Silence.

" _Sorry,"_ he mumbled, though she could hear the smile in his voice, " _I'm just so excited! This is like, the coolest thing that's ever happened to me."_

"Listen, I don't want to talk about this over the phone —"

" _Got it. How's tomorrow after school in the library?"_ he asked. She had a feeling he had been planning this for a while now. She couldn't blame him.

"Okay," she agreed.

" _Perfect! I still can't believe my best friend is a superhero! I just want to thank you for being a part of my life and giving me this experience,"_ he said and Adelaide laughed, something she hadn't been able to do for the past couple of days.

"See you, Ned."

" _Signing off, Blue Phantom."_

"Ned?"

" _Yeah?"_

"Don't call me that."

" _Sorry. I'm just —"_

"So excited. Yes, I know. I'll see you tomorrow."

" _Bye!"_

Shaking her head, she ended the call, tossing her phone to the side. She rolled over, staring at the ceiling. Somehow, Adelaide felt like she had made the right choice in deciding telling Ned. With a million more thoughts in anticipation for tomorrow, Adelaide finally found sleep.

* * *

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Wait, why are you late?_

 _I overslept._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _I thought I told Tony to wake you up._

 _ **Tony:**_ _I overslept, too. Sorry, hon._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _You had one job. One._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Are you at school now?_

 _Yes, I'm walking inside._

 _ **Tony:**_ _Liar._

 _ **Tony:**_ _I can see you getting in the car with Happy from the window._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Adelaide?!_

 _Yes! Okay! I'm sorry! I just didn't want you to freak out._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _It's a little too late for that._

 _I'll be there soon, don't worry about it._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Be safe._

 _ **Tony:**_ _Hey! Watch out for the car!_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _What?!_

 _Shut up, Tony._

 _There's no car, I'm sitting in the backseat._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Tony! That was not funny at all!_

 _ **Tony:**_ _You're right. I'm sorry._

 _ **Tony:**_ _Not even a little?_

 _ **Pepper:**_ …

 _ **Tony:**_ _Please don't kill me._

Shaking her head, Adelaide put her phone into her pocket. After falling asleep too late last night, she'd hadn't been able to get up on time and now she was late for school. In fact, she had probably missed her entire first class. Though, that wasn't such a terrible thing since it was only math. Even then, she wasn't exactly anxious to get to school any faster. Sure, she had decided to tell Ned, but that didn't mean it was any easier to talk about it. She was still burning with anticipation

By the time she got to school, it was already time for gym class. Adelaide headed straight into the changing room, changing into her shorts and T-shirt. Once we was changed, she went outside, heading towards the bleachers, waiting for Peter and Ned. After a while, she saw the two walking towards the bleachers side by side and Ned's face lit up at the sight of his friend. She was a superhero! That was never not going to be cool.

"I thought you weren't going to come," Ned said once he got closer. The two took a seat above her and she turned around to face them.

"Yeah, me too," Peter agreed, noticing that his friends had made up, "What happened?"

Adelaide smiled, feeling relieved that she at least didn't have to lie about this one too.

"I overslept."

"You know, I have a solution to that problem." Adelaide eyed him curiously.

"Really? And what's that?" she asked, amused. Peter grinned knowingly.

"It's really simple, too. I do it all the time," he started, rubbing his hands together, "So, all you have to do, is avoid falling asleep at 2 am. Easy, right?" She rolled her eyes, laughing.

"Smart ass," she joked, "If it were that easy, you don't think I'd be doing it all the time?"

Peter shrugged. "Beats me."

Suddenly, Coach Graves blew his whistle turning their attention to him.

"Get down here," he announced, rolling open a mat on the floor.

With a groan, the class began making their way down the bleachers begrudgingly. Clearly, he wasn't very likable. There hadn't been any more 'incidents' recently which Adelaide was definitely not complaining about. She couldn't wait for this class to be over even though they had just started school a few months ago. The class grouped together at the bottom of the bleachers, waiting for Coach Graves to give more instruction.

"Today will be our final lesson in our martial arts instruction. You will use everything you've learned so far to beat your opponent. The goal is to have them pinned down for 5 seconds to consider yourself a winner. I need a volunteer to help me demonstrate. Anyone?" he asked.

A couple people raised their hands but Graves' eye was only on Adelaide, of course.

"How about you Miss Rivers?"

"I didn't volunteer," she said bluntly, crossing her arms. He grinned.

"On the mat," he said, stepping back.

She rolled her eyes, walking over. What did he want from her? She stood on the mat lazily, arms still crossed. Adelaide eyed him carefully, almost glaring. No one else in the class had the guts to glare at Coach Graves or talk back to him. Now that she thought about it, she was the only one he didn't get angry at ever. It didn't matter what she did, he never yelled at her. On the other hand, if Flash even looked at Graves wrong, he got detention. What the hell was going on his head? Adelaide was dying to know.

Ned was excited. His friend was a superhero! And she was about to fight their coach! Of course, it wasn't really a fight, but he would take what he could get. He wondered if she would use her superpowers to win. What if she turned invisible? She probably didn't want to blow her cover...again. He was grinning so hard his cheeks were starting to ache. Adelaide was a superhero! The Blue Phantom! The Blue Phantom versus Coach Graves…

"Ready?" he asked her.

She dropped her arms to her sides as a yes. Graves grinned, getting into position.

With one last smirk, he jumped at her, trying to grab ahold of her arm. She moved aside swiftly, somehow expecting the movement. Instead, she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back even though he was a full grown man. As she was trying to knock his feet out from under him, he wiggled out from her grip and made her lose her balance. She rolled over before he could get her and then jumped up to her feet again.

She was getting the strangest feeling while fighting him. It was as if she knew his next 3 moves well before he took action. It was almost instinctive as she dodged his fist or faked a left pivot. When he went right, she ducked under his arm to the other side and then kicked his legs out from under him, causing him to fall over. As he was trying to stand up, she twisted his arms behind his back and pinned him down. Five seconds later, she dropped his arms and stood up.

He grinned, standing up.

"Great use of the last move, Miss Rivers. I was expecting something like that from you," he said and Adelaide narrowed her eyes. What was his deal?

"Alright," he said, clapping his hands together, "Everyone, find a partner, a mat, and get to fighting. Go!"

The class rushed to find a partner and Michelle approached her, a bored look on her face.

"Wanna fight me?"

Adelaide smirked.

"Thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Finally, the dismissal bell rang, signaling the end of school. Everyone was bolting out the door, rushing to get home. Adelaide hung back, slowly putting her books back into her backpack. Ned, on the other hand, was just about ready to burst from excitement. He was minutes away from feeding his curiosity. He had hardly even been able to get any sleep because of this.

As the three of them were walking out of the classroom, Ned glanced at Adelaide, grinning. He turned away facing Peter.

"Peter, you go ahead. Adelaide and I have to work on our...Algebra project in the library," he said. Peter shrugged, not questioning it.

"Alright. See you guys tomorrow," he said, walking out the doors. Ned turned to Adelaide, grinning.

"Come on, let's go to the library!" he said, practically dragging her there. They headed over to the back, sitting by the computers. They ran past the librarian who shushed them for being loud, even though there was no one else in the library. There was only one light on in the back and it was dim, making it dark.

Adelaide hated the dark.

"So did you really fight Ultron in Sokovia? Was he scary?" Ned asked, "Did you fight against Ultron? What was he like? He had a whole army of Ultron bots. They must have been hard to fight. I saw you, on the news, fighting one of them! What did it feel like? It must have been so terrifying."

Adelaide silently pulled up her sleeve, revealing the mark one of the Ultron bots had left on her arm. It was very faint now, but she would never forget it was there or how she got it.

"Woah," Ned said in shock, "Did an Ultron bot give you that?" She nodded, letting her sleeve fall back down and covering the scar.

"How did you get your superpowers? Were you born with them? Can you really control light?"

"I don't know, don't know, and yes."

"Wow…" he said, at a loss for words and, thankfully, anymore questions. Adelaide searched his face carefully.

"I just don't understand one thing...how did you end up here?" Ned asked quietly after a while. Adelaide hesitated.

"I came here 11 months ago," she answered, "I woke up at the Stark Tower and I don't remember anything before that."

"Like...anything?" She shook her head.

"Nothing at all. I'm 14 years old and I don't remember 13 of them."

"That's crazy…What about your parents? Do you remember them?"

"Not really. I only have one memory of them and it's the one where they were killed. Other than that, I don't even remember what they were like," she said with a shrug.

"Adelaide, that's terrible...I'm so sorry…" Ned said. He took another moment to take in the information, thinking to himself quietly. Suddenly he remembered what his friend had said.

"Wait, did you say you woke up at the _Stark_ Tower?"

"Yeah," she said with a grin as she watched his face present a million emotions in three seconds.

"Wh-How-When-Wha…?" he stuttered.

"Yes, Ned. I live at the Stark Tower," she said, answering his unspoken question.

"Wh…?"

"Tony and Pepper," she confirmed.

"How…?" She shrugged.

"I don't know how I got there. I just know that I woke up there and Tony and Pepper have taken me in ever since."

Adelaide thought back to the time when she had woken up. The first person who had been there was Happy and then there was Tony and then Pepper and then the Avengers. Now that was her life. It felt so long ago. So much had happened since that day.

"I think I'm going crazy," Ned said after a while and Adelaide chuckled.

"That's what I thought for about a solid month after I woke up," she said. The moment she had discovered her powers, she had really thought that she had lost it.

"So you woke up at the Stark Tower and now you live there, you have powers that can control light, you fought with the Avengers in Sokovia, you can't remember anything from your past, and you still go to school?"

"Yeah, that just about sums it up."

"Everything makes so much more sense now," he said, dazed, "All those times I thought you were hiding something or when I saw you getting out of the car with Happy Hogan...I wasn't just seeing things. It was all true!"

"Yeah...sorry about the whole keeping a secret thing. I don't think I'm ready for everyone to know just yet. Although, I do want to keep my identity a secret so please don't tell anyone."

"Adelaide, I swear on my life I won't tell a soul." She smiled, grateful.

"Thanks, Ned."

They both were silent for a while, thinking. In a way, telling Ned had definitely lifted a weight off of her chest. Although, if he hadn't seen her as the Blue Phantom that night, she doubted she would have told him any time soon. Maybe she was waiting to find out something else about herself, know who she really was.

"Have you tried looking for what might have happened to you in the past? The part you can't remember?"

Adelaide sighed.

"That's all I've been trying to do ever since I got here. We even asked Fury to look into SHIELD files —"

"Wait, SHIELD?"

"Yeah, my parents were SHIELD agents," she said, "But Fury said their files were empty. Someone had stolen all of the information about them just to keep me in the dark. I know there's someone behind all of this, there's gotta be, but I just don't know who."

Ned was quiet, thinking. Adelaide watched him, curious. She could almost see the gears spinning in his head.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"Have you tried looking in HYDRA files?" he asked and Adelaide gave him a confused look.

"What? Why would I look there?"

"Well, you said your parents were SHIELD agents and your parents' files were empty and...HYDRA is SHIELD's biggest enemy…"

Adelaide followed his thoughts, connecting the link. Her mind was spinning a million miles a minute. It was like puzzle pieces were falling perfectly into place. And then, everything clicked.

"...And HYDRA might know what happened to my parents," she said aloud.

"Bingo."

"Ned! That's brilliant!" she said, trying to keep her voice quiet despite the excitement, "I can't believe I didn't think of that before. It's so obvious! But how do we get access to HYDRA files?"

Ned grinned knowingly.

"Just leave that up to me."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: On time, as promised!**

 **So, what's going down in this chapter? Well, Adelaide gives Ned like about 20 heart attacks and that's pretty much all that happens lol. This isn't an action-packed chapter, but still very necessary to the plot unwinding. There's a little bit of our favorite billionaire and red-head (Pepper, not Natasha).**

 **For those of you who have seen the notice already, the chapters that I've edited are 16 and 17, mainly just a couple of scenes, but nothing too drastic. If guys spot anyplace else that I missed, let me know and I'll fix it right up, but I'm pretty sure I got all of the scenes. So if you wanna go back and check out the changes, that'd be great. *thumbs up* But if you don't feel like it, that's perfectly fine too. I'm gonna try to keep the notice up all the way until next week when I publish the next chapter so hopefully everyone has a chance to see it and understand it. The last thing I want is confusion so please, please let me know if you have any questions.**

 **Alright so after this chapter, Adelaide and Ned are gonna start working like a real team and then some other stuff I don't know yet. I will point out that currently it's November in the chapter and Peter gets bitten by a spider on December 1st...Gosh! I'm so excitedddd! I know we haven't seen a lot of him lately, but that's gonna change reaaal soon. ;)**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! We'll definitely be seeing a lot more of Ned helping Adie from here on out. They become like Batman and Robin lol.**_

 **Huge thank you to: _draco1221, ebarnea25, golden-priestess, dobrevnholt, Kairi Serenity Dark, Fluffymarshmallows, jamiep6,_ and _AgentHuntress_ for either following/favoriting, or leaving a review in the previous chapter! This story wouldn't be the same without you guys! **

* * *

_"She's an assassin._

 _She's terrifying._

 _And you call her Nat?"_

* * *

"452," Ned answered confidently.

Mr. Hans smiled at him, something he hardly ever did. He had definitely never smiled at Adelaide. Then again, she was a horrible student so she couldn't really complain.

"Excellent Mr. Leeds, excellent!" he said, turning around to write the answer on the board. He circled it exaggeratedly. This man was too obsessed with math. He had crossed a line. In fact, he was so far away from the line, the line was a dot to him. ( **A/N: Please tell me you get this reference** )

"He loves you," she mumbled. Ned rolled his eyes.

"So are we really arguing about this again?" he asked, tapping his pencil against his desk. Adelaide frowned, annoyed by the sound.

"He loves you," she repeated mockingly.

"He does not _love_ me."

" _Shh_ ," Michelle said, glaring at them as if they were actually distracting her from the lesson. Hell, she wasn't even listening. Adelaide could clearly see the white earbuds in her ears. And the novel inside her textbook. How she passed any of her classes, Adelaide had no idea.

"You know you have to have a B in this class to be able to go to the field trip?" Ned asked, whispering now. Mr. Hans had informed them about an upcoming field trip next month to some museum to see radioactive spiders. He stressed that every student had to have at least B in every class to be able to go. He had looked at Adelaide while saying it.

"So I can see spiders? I think I'll pass," she said, leaning back in her seat.

"But they're not just spiders! They're enhanced! The best of their kind!" he exclaimed.

"But they're still spiders, so not very interesting."

Suddenly, the bell rang, dismissing the class. Adelaide quickly packed her backpack and they both hurried outside. As usual, the two met up with Peter in the hallway outside their class before heading down to the gym together. Peter grinned at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"No 'Mr. Hans did this today' story?" he said, nudging her with his elbow as they walked down the hall to gym. She frowned.

"First of all, I do not sound like that and second, it's the same thing as every day before today. He loves Ned."

Ned frowned, annoyed.

"Adelaide said the enhanced spiders were lame," Ned accused. Peter's eyes grew wide.

"Lame? _Lame?_ Adelaide, those spiders are like the all in one. They have _everything_. I've read so much about them online, I can't wait to see them in real life," Peter said, nerding out for a moment. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine," she said, accepting defeat, "I'll bring my grade up by next month to go, but you're gonna have to help me." She pokes his arm and he grinned, pushing his glasses up.

"Deal," he said, pushing open the gym doors. These two dorks somehow always talked her into the weirdest situations. Like, radioactive spiders? Sure, it was cool but they were still icky, crawly spiders nonetheless. As Peter went inside the locker room, Adelaide held Ned back, grabbing his arm.

"Have you found anything yet?" she whispered and Ned immediately understood what his friend was talking about.

"I haven't looked yet, but I know where we can find all the information we need," he said, grinning proudly.

"And where's that?" she asked, not entirely convinced.

"You'll see," he said.

"Ned, you gotta start telling me what you're up to, it might not —"

"Yo, Adelaide," Flash said, making her straighten up and attempt to drop any suspicious expression on her face. The last thing she needed was for Flash to find out.

"Catch!" he said, throwing a volleyball at her. She threw it back without missing a beat, hitting his toe.

"We'll talk about it later," she whispered to Ned before running to the girls' locker room. Nowhere was safe, where could they possibly talk about something as secretive and important as this?

Suddenly, the perfect location struck her.

* * *

"Sentence structure is key to communicating the…"

Adelaide tuned her out, as usual. She suddenly realized why all her teachers thought she was a terrible student. Not caring any more or less, she glanced at Ned who was sitting to her right. She had to find a way to tell him the location without Peter finding out or he would get suspicious. She couldn't text him because the English teacher had a strict no-phone-in-class policy. And if she tried to whisper it, who know who was eavesdropping?

Looking around for an idea, her eyes landed on the notebook sitting in front of her. She glanced at Ned and then at Mrs. London who was turned around, writing something on the board. She seized the opportunity and ripped a sheet of paper from her notebook, scribbling down her note and folding it up before discreetly passing it to Ned. He was confused for a moment before he caught on and grabbed the note from her hand, hiding it in his first.

Glancing at her, he opened the note under his desk, his eyes running over it.

 _I have the perfect place for us to meet._

He glanced at Mrs. London before pulling out his pencil and scribbling on the note. Folding it up again, he passed it to Adelaide who took it under her desk. From the corner of her eye, she saw Peter looking at her and she pretended the note was a part of the assignment until he looked away.

She opened the note.

 _Where?_

Quickly, she pulled out her pen and wrote down the answer, glancing at Mrs. London again. Her back was still turned. Hiding the note in her fist, handed it to Ned. Just as he was about to open it, Mrs. London turned around to face the class.

"Any questions about that?" she asked. No one raised their hand and so she nodded. "Good. Now let's move on to cause and effect…"

As soon as she turned around, Ned opened up the note, his eyes moving from left to right. Adelaide bit her lip nervously, hoping he wouldn't freak —

"The Stark Tower!" he exclaimed aloud, causing everyone to turn and look at him. Mrs. London looked particularly annoyed and Adelaide winced.

 _She was going to see the note, she was going to see the note, she was going to see the note_.

"Excuse me, Ned?" she said, raising an eyebrow. Ned's eyes grew wide and he glanced at Adelaide, panicked.

"Um, sorry...I was just...uh...making a list of my favorite places," he said and Adelaide rolled her eyes, refraining herself from face palming. If she was a bad liar, then he was the worst. Peter looked at her, confused and Adelaide shrugged, pretending she had no idea what was going on. Peter chuckled, shaking his head.

"Next time, do it in your head. I can't have people interrupting my classroom," she said with a sigh as she turned around. "Now where was I? Right, cause and effect. So…"

The note came back to her and she glanced around before opening it up.

 _Are you crazy?_

She grinned, writing back and passing it to him.

 _I just might be_.

* * *

Adelaide was anxiously waiting for Happy to come back with Ned. It was driving her crazy. She might actually get to discover something about her parents. She cursed at herself for not thinking of looking in HYDRA's database sooner. The idea was brilliant.

"You okay, Adelaide?" Pepper asked, coming into the kitchen. Adelaide turned around as the woman was opening up the fridge. "Do I need to ask Happy to bring chocolates on his way back?"

Adelaide grinned sheepishly.

"For me? Thanks, Pep." Pepper rolled her eyes, smiling as she closed the fridge, standing up. She pulled out a chair and took a seat next to the teenager, watching her curiously. Adelaide tilted her head to the side.

"What is it?" Pepper asked, a small smile on her face.

"What? There's nothing."

"You seem happier than usual," the woman noted. Adelaide raised her eyebrows.

"I'm just...having a nice day." Adelaide didn't want to tell her or Tony what they were up to because she knew they'd freak out and then try to take control over the situation themselves. But she wanted to find out on her own. And if she did learn anything, she didn't want to be stopped from finding out more, no matter how dangerous it would get. And she had a sinking feeling that it would.

Pepper grinned.

"I don't think so," she said.

"Well," she said, getting off the high chair, "Whatever it is, I'm glad that you're happy. You haven't been the same since…"

Adelaide dropped her smile, knowing exactly what she was talking about. She couldn't think about that right now. That genie was out of the bottle. The woman ruffled Adelaide's hair, knowing she was bothered by the action. Adelaide frowned, hurrying to put it back into place.

"So are really not going to tell me what it is?" Pepper asked, a cup of coffee somehow in her hand now. Adelaide pretended to think about it.

"No," she answered.

Suddenly, FRIDAY's voice came from the overhead speakers.

" _Adelaide, Ned Leeds has arrived in the lobby, here to see you. Should I send him up?"_

Adelaide jumped off of her high chair, shaking her head.

"No, I'll go get him myself."

" _Alright."_

Pepper raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were smitten with Peter."

"I am not smitten with anyone, for your information. Ned and I are just working on a project for class. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get him before he passes out in the lobby from excitement or freaks Happy out."

Pepper laughed, sipping her coffee.

"Have fun," The woman said as she got into the elevator. Adelaide shook her head as she pressed the lobby button on the elevator. Smitten for Peter. Like that could ever happen. A few moments later, the elevator opened up, revealing a very happy Ned sitting in the lobby along with a not so happy Happy. Adelaide grinned, stepping out of the elevator. It felt a bit strange to see Ned here, in this setting.

"Hey, Ned."

"Adelaide!" He bounced up, looking almost relieved to see a familiar face.

"This friend of yours — what's your name again, kid?" Happy piped up.

"N-Ned, sir."

"Yeah, Ned. Too excited. How can you possibly ask that many questions in two minutes?" Happy said. Adelaide laughed as Ned turned red, still grinning.

"I figured he'd do that."

"Anyway, I have to head out. See you around, kid. Bye Adelaide," he said, walking away.

"Do I really get to see Tony Stark's penthouse?!" Ned asked as soon as Happy was gone.

"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on discussing everything in the elevator," she retorted but Ned didn't seem bothered. He was going to _the_ Tony Stark's penthouse! This was the best day of his life. Never once did he think he would actually get to step foot in the Stark Tower, yet here he was, about to go into his penthouse! It was so crazy, he was barely processing it all.

Suddenly, Ned heard a voice that made him lose his balance.

"Hey, Adie," Tony said, approaching the two. Ned turned around slowly. Lo and behold, the actual Tony freaking Stark! In the flesh! Ned went slightly dizzy. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming and after feeling the pain that shot up his arm, it was definitely certain that he was very much _not_ dreaming. This was really happening. _He was meeting Tony Stark_. _The_ Tony Stark. Iron Man. It took him every nerve in his body to keep himself from jumping up and down like a toddler on Christmas morning.

"Hey, kid," Tony said, standing next to them. Ned was shaking from excitement. Tony Stark just talked to him! Ned would definitely not mind if he died right about now. He'd done everything he'd wanted in his life. Tony looked at the teenager curiously when he didn't respond. He glanced at Adelaide and then leaned down, whispering in her ear.

"Is he okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Adelaide whispered back, slightly annoyed. Tony straightened up, clearing his throat.

"Right, okay. Well, Adie's told me all about you. All of the bad things, of course." Ned was paralyzed. Adie? Tony Stark; genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist had a nickname for his best friend? Ned couldn't believe his ears. Adelaide sighed.

"Tony, what do you want?" she asked.

"What?" he said, offended, "I can't have a friendly conversation with my pal…"

"N-Ned, sir," the teenager finally said, finding his voice.

"Right. Ned. And please, don't call me sir. I prefer King of the World or Mr. Genius. You know, something subtle." Adelaide rubbed her face.

"Tony, what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I'm going out," he answered and Adelaide raised an eyebrow. Ned watched the two banter with wide eyes. It was surreal.

"Out where?" she asked.

"What are you, a cop?" Tony said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're going to get Pepper a new vase, aren't you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Tony watched her, almost glaring.

"Have you considered becoming a cop? It's a very suitable profession," he rambled, avoiding the topic. Adelaide crossed her arms, staring him down until he broke. The billionaire sighed.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I'm going to get Pepper a new vase. She's mad at you, you know." Adelaide uncrossed her arms, dropping them to her side. The two had almost forgotten that Ned was there, too busy bantering. Although, Ned was completely fine with watching them.

"What? Why? What did I do?" she asked.

"You broke her vase," he said like it was obvious. He turned away, facing Ned, "Well, it was good to see you…"

"Uh, N-Ned," the teenager stuttered.

"Right. Well, I'm off to get a new vase to replace the one that _you_ broke," the billionaire said, pointing at Adelaide and walking towards the door. Adelaide glared at him.

"Tony!"

"Good talk!" he said over his shoulder before walking out of the building. Adelaide rolled her eyes, annoyed. She knew very well that Tony had broken the vase. He had knocked it over while experimenting with his Iron Man suit arm. Sighing, she turned to Ned.

"Come on, let's go," she said, heading toward the elevator.

"Mr. Stark calls you Adie?" he asked, dazed.

"Yeah," she said, pressing the button on the elevator and the doors closed soon after, "He thinks Adelaide takes too long."

"Woah…" Ned said to himself, almost in a trance. This was unbelievable. He never knew his best friend was so close to Mr. Stark.

"So," she said, tucking her brown hair behind her ears, "You told me to leave the file hunt up to you."

"Y-Yeah," Ned said, bringing himself back to reality, "I have an idea that might work." Adelaide nodded. They couldn't talk too much in the elevator. She knew there were cameras in here so it wasn't safe. For the rest of the way up, they were silent, anxiously waiting. Adelaide had a million questions and her heart was beating in anticipation. What seemed like an hour later, the elevator doors finally opened, revealing the penthouse. Adelaide heard Ned gasp behind her as she stepped out of the elevator.

"This is where you live?!" he asked, eyes roaming around the room, "Holy crap."

"Yeah, it takes some getting used to. But come on, we have to go," she said heading towards her room. Ned had forgotten how to walk and he barely followed after his best friend. Just as she was about to twist the door handle on the door to her room, Pepper shouted her name.

"Adelaide!"

"I'm in my room!" she shouted back, pushing open the door. Ned stood there for a second, confused before Adelaide pulled him inside. Pepper appeared at the door, glancing at Ned whose eyes were transfixed on the woman. That was Pepper Potts. Standing in front of him. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Or maybe Adelaide was playing tricks on him.

"Hi, you must be Ned," Pepper said, smiling as she held her hand out. Ned blinked back blankly until he pulled himself together and held out his hand to shake. Holy crap! He was shaking Pepper Potts' hand. This was the best day of his life! He realized that he was still shaking her hand and he dropped it, feeling his face heat up.

Pepper glanced at Adelaide who immediately put her hands up in surrender.

"I did not break your vase, I swear," the teenager said and the woman laughed.

"I know, don't worry about it. Anyway, Ned, you're welcome to stay for dinner if you want. Happy can drop you home afterwards."

"D-Dinner? Um, s-sorry, but my mom wants me home early," he managed to say. Dinner with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. How did this day actually keep getting better?

"Of course," Pepper said, understandingly, "Well, I'll leave you two to your work. It was nice to meet you, Ned."

He felt himself going red as a tomato.

"Y-You too, Ms. Potts."

"Call me Pepper," she said with a kind smile before turning away and heading down the hall. Ned tried breathing exercises.

"H-Hey Adelaide?"

"Yeah?" she said, her eyes on the computer screen.

"Who was that woman you brought to Coach Ross' funeral?" he asked, not sure if he was prepared to hear the answer. Adelaide grinned, turning around in her chair.

"Guess."

Ned's mouth fell open.

"No way!" he said and Adelaide chuckled.

"Come on," she said, turning around, "Show me those files."

Somehow, Ned managed to open up his laptop and login. Adelaide sat down beside him, watching in curiosity.

"Do you remember, earlier this year in January when Black Widow and Captain America released those HYDRA and SHIELD files to the world?" Ned asked, typing something in the computer. He opened up a terminal, typing some incoherent words into the blinking cursor.

"Yeah, I remember Nat telling me something about that," she mumbled and Ned looked at her.

"Natasha." He blinked at her blankly.

"Black Widow," she said.

"You call Black Widow, Nat?" he asked in disbelief. Adelaide shrugged.

"Yeah, why?"

"She's an assassin. She's terrifying. And you call her _Nat_?" Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"She's not that scary once you get to know her," Adelaide defended, but Ned didn't look convinced. "Just get the files, okay?"

"Right," he said, facing the laptop again, "Sorry."

"So since she released those files, anyone can access them?" she asked, reading over his shoulder even though none of it made sense to her.

"Well, ideally, yes. But you have to go through the backdoor to have full access. And only the skilled can take down the firewall."

Adelaide blinked at him blankly, not understanding a word.

"Think of it like a locked door. Only the people with the key can get in. But then people make duplicates of the key and now anyone can get in if they can get their hands on the key."

"Okay," she said slowly, "So you have a key?"

"Well, not exactly," Ned said, typing something else into the terminal window, "I have to find a duplicate and use that."

"Okay," she said again, "And how long does that take?" He pressed enter, grinning.

"That long," he said, copying the code.

"Wait, you got it already?"

"Yeah, now I just have to type it in and...bingo! The files!" he said. Adelaide's eyes were furiously scanning the screen, trying to retain all the information. This was it. She was finally going to get answers.

"How are you going to find my parents?" she asked.

"Just tell me their names," he said.

"Henry and Ava Rivers," she answered and Ned typed them into the search bar. The computer began analyzing over thousands of files, scanning each one until it displayed two files with her parents' names on it. Her heart was beating itself right out of her chest.

"Open them!" she said and Ned tapped them, opening them up.

"That's weird," he mumbled and Adelaide held her breath.

"What?"

"These are from the HYDRA database." Adelaide looked at him, confused.

"But they were SHIELD agents."

"Yeah, exactly. That means that I was right," he said, a slow smile appearing onto his face, "HYDRA has information on your parents. Wow. That is like the coolest sentence I have ever said."

Adelaide was still confused. What information could HYDRA possibly have on her parents?

"Why isn't the file opening?" she said impatiently and Ned frowned, typing something else into the screen. She glanced at him.

"What?"

"The files...they're empty."

Adelaide felt her stomach drop and swallowed, breaking out into sweat. That didn't make any sense. But then again, it made perfect sense. Whoever was keeping this information from her had deleted their files from the SHIELD and HYDRA database so she wouldn't find anything. But why? Why go so many lengths to hide it from her? What was he hiding and why?

"Adelaide?" Ned said, pulling her out of her dizzying thoughts, "Are you okay?"

"You have to go," she said suddenly and Ned grew confused.

"What? Why? Because the files are empty?"

"No," she breathed, "Yes. Someone is trying to hide something from me. They don't want me to find out. And it's dangerous."

"But –"

"No, let me finish. One of the reasons I didn't tell you and Peter about everything was because it's dangerous. I have this feeling that I wasn't exactly an angel in my past. I mean, I'm suspiciously good at martial arts, I can use a gun better than the average person, and my first instinct is to defend myself. So, I just think that it would be safer if you walked away from this right now. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Look, Adelaide, I don't like risking my life as much as the next person but if I can help you find answers, then I don't want to just sit around because it was 'too dangerous'," he said, making air quotes, "I'm all in and you can't kick me out. Plus, I get do cool spy stuff. This is like the coolest thing that's ever happened to me."

Adelaide searched his face. He really was a great best friend and his face told her that he meant every word that he just said. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. Ned grinned, facing the laptop again and typing something again.

Adelaide licked her dry lips, hoping she made the right choice.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I am two days late and I am so sorry and what are the chances that as I'm writing this Time to Pretend (Homecoming trailer music) starts playing from my playlist? _Badum, badum, badum...time to pretend...to pretend._ Just a side note, I wrote like 70% of this chapter listening to Come and Get Your Love on repeat and like basically the Guardians of the Galaxy playlist at like 12 am in morning instead of writing my essays. I wanted to upload this yesterday but I had to do some plot checking because Spider-Man's timeline is about to start and I had to do some last minute plotting. *Evil laugh* Lmao, don't worry you will love this chapter, especially the end. I thought it was hilarious but then again I do feel a little high off of some good music. _I can't stop this feeling, deep inside of me..._ Okay, okay, I'll stop. Shoutout to Spotify though, for knowing exactly what I wanna hear to keep me from nodding off again. Anyway, last week and this week (even though it's only Tuesday) have been pretty hectic, man. I mean, I don't have time to eat (but I somehow manage to squeeze in at least two episodes of Friends every day? Go figure). I'm not really sure when the next chapter will be up because there's like a million things going on this week so who knows, tbh. Don't worry though, I'll write it as fast as I can. **

**Enough about that boring stuff. So where are we with this chapter? Well, do y'all remember the last chapter? Cause I definitely don't. I distinctly remember Ned almost passing out, no? Anyway, this chapter is just more of Adie and Neddie stumbling around like teenagers always do and there's not that much action in this one either. Sorry about that. This part of the story is just mainly laying low so if there was action all of a sudden, I know I'd be confused. But let just throw out that the ending is _hilarious_. You'll laugh, I promise. **

**Also, I wanted to mention and clarify something real quick. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nat released SHIELD and HYDRA files to the public (right?) so that's what Ned and Adie were looking at the last chapter (hey! I remember what happened now!) but this chapter...well, I don't wanna spoil it, but it's entirely different from the files that Nat released. Just wanted to clear that up.**

 **I'm gonna leave the notice up another week, just to be safe. I'll delete it when I publish the next chapter. Well, I just wanna say that Peter is so close to becoming Spider-Man and I NEED A TISSUE UP IN HERE. I can't wait to get into that timeline, I have so much exciting stuff planned I just wanna skipp all of this (kinda) boring stuff but that would be bad so we're gonna drag through it. I feel like there was something else I had in mind to say in this note but it left me. Typical. Oh wait! I remember it! WE HAVE REACHED 100,000+ WORDS AND THATS A HIGE MILESTONE IM DO PROUD OF THIS STORY AND EVER LITTLE WORD THAT BUILD UP TO THIS HUGE NUMBER THIS MIGHT BE LIKE MY GREATEST WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENT AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: Lol I loved writing the scene where Ned got to meet everyone. I'm kinda worried that since Ned hasn't actually met Tony in the real Spider-Man movies yet, it might interfere with my story, but we'll cross that bridge once we get there.**_

 **Thank you to: _Fluffymarshmallows, ImAFanda, Whydoitmc, jdude281, ObsessedwReading,_ and _sebastianar1856_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review in the previous chapter! You guys are all so wonderful and sweet and thank you for being here for the all of the 100,000 words **

* * *

_"You guys need_

 _to get a life."_

* * *

Lunch was Adelaide's favorite class of the day. The homework was always delicious and there were never any tests. Unless she counted the mystery desert on the last Friday of every month. Tasting the mystery desert was a test like no other. Of course, Midtown High didn't exactly serve a 5-star meal, but it was certainly better than most food that she could make.

"...and then, the space invaders came from the side and boom!" Ned said, waving his arms around animatedly. Peter's eyes grew wide.

"No way! I can't believe I missed it!" he said, opening up the packet of ketchup.

"Did you watch it, Adelaide?" Ned asked, pulling her out of her food fantasy.

"Huh?" came her reply.

"The Space Invaders," Ned said. Adelaide frowned. What in the world was that?

"No, I missed it too," she lied, knowing they would make a ruckus if they figured out she had no idea what that was. Maybe she should stop tuning their conversations out and actually pay attention to them. She didn't remember watching much television before she woke up at the Tower. The majority of everything she knew about movies and shows came from Tony's tv. If she wasn't doing homework or hunting for information on her parents, she was watching tv. But she always watched the interesting stuff. Not 'The Space Invaders'.

"You're still coming over this weekend for your math, right?" Peter asked, sipping his juice. Adelaide groaned.

"Do I have to? I mean, I don't really even like spiders. They're just...spiders. Plus, I miss being able to watch tv in my pajamas on a Saturday."

"Fine," Peter said, leaning forward, "Forget about the spiders for a moment. Don't you want to pass Mr. Hans class with a B?" Adelaide thought about it. It would be nice. And a B grade would be a nice change from a C that she was so used to seeing next to her math subject on her report cards. Spiders or not, it was a field trip which meant she would get to get out of class. That tipped her over the edge in a heartbeat.

"Okay, fine," she said, "I'll be there."

"You know," Ned said, glancing at Peter, "since we already have good enough grades, why don't we make that Lego Invader Fleet you were telling me about? The one with the extra rocket…"

Adelaide tuned them out, scrolling through her phone. Her mind began drifting and the phone screen became blurry.

It had been a few days since she and Ned had accessed the HYDRA files which had turned out to be empty, to her disappointment. But she knew that they weren't always empty. Someone had deleted them just so she wouldn't be able to see what was in them. That just made her want them more.

She still couldn't understand how HYDRA ended up with her parents' files. They were SHIELD agents, had been for as far back as she could remember. Ned's theory did make sense, though. HYDRA was SHIELD's biggest enemy so it explained why they would keep tabs on SHIELD agents. But why her parents? What had they been hiding? And how in world did she get pulled into all of this? It didn't explain her powers or her memory loss. She was still missing something but she next to no idea what it could even be. It was like she was back at square one, just more frustrated.

And then suddenly, someone appeared to add to her frustration.

"You're Peter, right?"

Adelaide looked up, surprised to see Liz Allan standing there. Peter's eyes grew wide and he almost dropped the drink in his hand. He took his time to find his voice again and Adelaide kicked his foot under the table.

"Ah! Yeah! Uh, yeah, that's me," he said with a goofy smile transfixed onto his face. He pushed his glasses up and Adelaide frowned, annoyed. It was like he lost all common sense when Liz was anywhere near him.

"Great," she said perkily, "And you're Ned and you're...Adelaide?"

Ned's mouth fell open. Liz Allan knew his name. Holy crap this was awesome.

"Michelle?" Liz said, glancing at the curly-haired girl at the other of the table who was taking a nap, not so surprisingly. She looked up, dazed. Her eyes landed and Liz and she looked between the four teenagers, confused. How did a girl like Liz end up at this losers' table?

"What do you need?" Adelaide asked, sounding kind of brisk. Liz didn't seem to notice as she shuffled through the binder in her hand. A moment later, she pulled out four papers and handed one to each of them. Adelaide slid Michelle's paper down to her as the girl was too lazy to get up on her own.

"The Decathlon team could really use some new members and based on your grades and academic strengths, we think that you four would be perfect additions to our team. The application process is really simple and if you have any questions, my number is on that paper," Liz said sweetly. Adelaide thought she was acting too sweet. No one could be that nice. "I hope you all can make it to our meeting next month."

Peter's mind was swirling. Liz Allan knew his name. She wanted him to join the decathlon team _and_ she gave him his number. This was the best day ever!

"S-So I can call you? If I have questions, I mean," he said. Liz nodded.

"Yes, of course. My number is right," she scanned his paper, leaning closer read it better. Peters breath hitched in his throat. Liz smelled amazing up close. Like coconuts and sunshine.

"There," she said, pointing at the number with her perfectly manicured nail. Peter felt his heart beating so fast, he thought it was going to beat itself right out of his ribcage.

"Do you guy have any questions?" Liz asked. Adelaide was quick to answer.

"No, thanks," she muttered. She thought she was acting ridiculous. She didn't even know the girl very well. She couldn't judge her based off of one interaction. And she did seem sweet, but Adelaide couldn't figure out why Liz bothered her so much. She sighed, holding her head up with her hand. Just another thing to add to her ever growing 'I Don't know' list.

Once Liz was gone, Peter and Ned went hysterical.

"Liz Allan just talked to us!" Peter said.

"And she wants us to join the Decathlon team!" Ned added, "Can you believe it! That team is only the for best!"

"Do you think she noticed I was stuttering?" Peter asked, pushing his glasses up. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Pete, I think the entire cafeteria saw your bright red face."

"She's right," Michelle piped up, "You guys need to get a life." And then she went back to sleep again. But Peter and Ned didn't care. Liz Allan has just talked to them! This was the best day of their lives!

"I can't wait to turn in my application!" Ned said, practically bouncing in his seat. Peter nodded.

"Me too. I'm turning it in first thing tomorrow morning," he said, carefully putting it in his bag.

"We can all go to turn it in together," Ned said. Adelaide shook her head.

"I'm not joining." Peter's mouth fell open along with Ned's.

"What?!" they both said simultaneously. Adelaide shrugged.

"It's not for me," she said.

"But, Adelaide, you gotta join," Ned said.

"Yeah. Liz just said that the team needs you," Peter said.

"You guys will be fine without me," she said, waving her hand. Peter and Ned looked at each other in disbelief. They couldn't believe their friend wasn't going to join the Decathlon team. The two of them had been waiting to join for years now and Adelaide had the chance but didn't want to join.

Suddenly, the bell rang and Adelaide was quite literally saved by the bell.

* * *

" _Ned Leeds has arrived in the lobby, should I send him up?"_ FRIDAY asked. Adelaide sighed flipping her computer shut as she stood up. It had been a few hours since she had come home from school and she had been searching the internet ever since. Not so surprisingly, she hadn't been able to find much. To be completely honest, she hadn't found anything at all. It's as if someone had erased her parents' existence from the face of the Earth. Or it could be the fact that she couldn't hack anything even if her life depended on it.

"Yeah," Adelaide said, rubbing her face, "Send him up."

She sat back down on the couch, leaning her head back and yawning. There was something she was missing and there were only two ways she could find it. Either she could just wait for her memories to miraculously come back to her or she could hunt down the man who behind all of this and torture him for answers. Not so surprisingly, she liked the latter better. The elevator dinged, making her sit up.

Ned stepped into the penthouse, still looking as shocked as he had the first time around. Had that flat screen tv always been there? And that glass coffee table?

"I could really get used to this place," he said dreamily.

"It doesn't look like you are," Adelaide teased, a small smile in her voice.

"It's only my second time here," he argued.

"So how many visits will it take?" she asked, crossing her arms. Ned shrugged.

"A couple hundred," he muttered and Adelaide chuckled, shaking her head. A yawn escaped her again as she was about to tell him to open his laptop. Ned noticed, raising an eyebrow.

"No sleep?" he asked. She shook her head, rubbing her face.

"Just my midday crash. I'm gonna go make some coffee, want some?" she said, swiftly changing the topic. The truth was, she hadn't been able to get any decent sleep for the past three days ever since she found the empty files. It was all she could think about anymore. She got up and headed into the kitchen, starting up the coffee maker.

"Hey Adelaide?" Ned asked.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts?" he asked and Adelaide smiled to herself.

"You can call them Tony and Pepper, you know," she said, "But not Pep, she hates that nickname."

"I know, but it feels weird." Adelaide rolled her eyes, pulling out the creamer from the cabinet.

"They're not home. I think Tony said they were going to a benefit or something. What kind of creamer do you want?"

"Do you have hazelnut?"

"I think we have every creamer there ever was," she joked, pulling out the hazelnut creamer.

"So when are you going to tell them that we hacked into HYDRA files?" Adelaide paused, clearing her throat.

"I'm not?" she said, although it sounded more like a question. Ned immediately appeared in the entrance of the kitchen.

"You're not going to tell them?" he asked in disbelief, "Why not?! Adelaide, this is _HYDRA_ we're talking about here." She bit her lip, sighing.

"Exactly," she said, pulling out the sugar, "How many spoons?"

"Two. And what do you mean?"

"I just don't want Tony or Pepper knowing about what we're messing around with. I want to keep it just between the two of us, okay?"

"But _why?_ " he asked, almost whining. He hated keeping secrets. Keeping this one about Adelaide was hard enough, and now was he supposed to hide it from Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts?

"Because, Ned. Do you really think that if I told Pepper that I was going to hack into HYDRA files, she would just let me?" Ned stared at her for a second longer before sighing and looking down at the floor. She was right. If anyone else found out about this, it would be over before it even had the chance to start.

"Okay, I get your point. I won't tell anyone," he said and Adelaide let out a breath of relief just as the coffee maker beeped, indicating that it was done.

"Thanks," she said, pulling out the pot and pouring some coffee into each cup.

"So I have this idea…" he began, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Adelaide could tell from his tone that she wasn't going to like it. Even then, she still wanted to hear it.

"What is it?" she asked, stirring in the creamer and sugar. Ned looked at her nervously.

"We could try hacking straight into HYDRA's database?" he said.

"No," Adelaide said immediately, setting down the creamer, "It's too dangerous and risky for you."

"Do I need to repeat my speech about this subject again?" he said and Adelaide sighed. "Come on, Adelaide! I'm your guy in the chair! I love doing stuff like this! It's so much more interesting than my computer class anyway."

"Guy in the chair?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, you know, the guy who has a bunch of different computers around him and he's hacking into stuff. Oh! and he has that rolling chair!"

"Ned, this is HYDRA," she said, her voice quiet, "Do you even know if you can get in? They probably have Fort Knox security."

"I didn't say it would be easy," he stated, "but I think I can do it."

It _was_ tempting. And what were the chances something could go wrong? Adelaide ignored the part of her mind that was screaming all the ways it could possibly go wrong. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, stirring the coffee. If they could get into HYDRA's database, they were sure to find answers there. It was like a gold mine. And now that she knew they were hiding information about her parents, she was certain they had something in their database. It was definitely a huge risk. It was _HYDRA_ for crying out loud. They were the world's biggest enemy and yet they had information on her parents that they were keen to keep from her. Her veins were buzzing with curiosity. Finally, she stopped stirring the coffee, sighing.

"Fine. Okay. We can try hacking into HYDRA's database," she said, seeing a smile appear on Ned's face from the corner of her eye, "But. We're going to start having to be more careful. This isn't just a game or a practice session from your computer class."

"Are you kidding? My computer class _never_ does anything as cool as this! Ever!" he exclaimed as Adelaide handed him his coffee. They both made their way back to the couch again, where Ned's laptop was sitting on the coffee table, open and ready to go. Adelaide swallowed, sitting down.

"So how do we do it?" she asked carefully, sipping her coffee. Ned opened up his terminal, typing a string of letters into the first line.

"I'm not sure exactly, but I can try a few things…" he said.

"Not sure?" she asked, "Ned, how long is this gonna take?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. It could take days, weeks, or even months before I find the right algorithm."

"Great," she sighed, "So that means it might work, but it could take a few months and if you can't figure it out, well, that's a few months we're not going to get back."

"Well, I'm no Mr. Stark," he said glancing at her and she rolled her eyes, sipping her coffee. She leaned back against the couch, her mind wandering. If she really did find out something about her parents, would she be able to handle it? What could HYDRA possibly be hiding? Just thinking about it terrified her. Once she found out, she wouldn't be able to back to her oblivion. In a way, she had grown accustomed to living in the oblivion. Sure, the curiosity made her restless and uneasy but at the moment, her biggest problem was trying to bring up her math grade to a B so she could go on a silly field trip to see spiders. What if her life changed completely after she found out the truth? Adelaide sighed again, slumping against the couch. It all depended on the truth. It always had.

"Okay, the good news is that I think I found a way we can get in," Ned started. Adelaide eyes grew wide.

"действительно?" she asked, sitting up.

"But the bad news is that HYDRA resets their security system and passwords every 24 hours. Which means that I'd have to get in before 24 hours or then I have to start over."

"Well what are you doing! Get at it!" she said, gesturing to the computer.

"I'm trying, I'm trying but this isn't NASA," he muttered.

"You've hacked into NASA before?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. He shrugged.

"Once, a few years back."

"Huh," she said, "You know, Tony said he did it once, too. They really need to tighten their security a notch." Ned chuckled.

"Or five," he said, his eyes still on the screen and Adelaide smiled. She could've never done this without Ned's help. In a way, he was risking his life for her. Everyone knew HYDRA wasn't just child's play. It was the real deal.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged and the two teenagers glanced at each other, eyes wide and heart beating fast. They weren't supposed to be back for another two hours! The doors opened, revealing Pepper standing behind them, dressed in an elegant gown. She smiled, stepping out of the elevator before it close again. Adelaide elbowed Ned and he flipped the laptop shut, his face heating up. Adelaide was going to make him lie to Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts. What kind of first impression would that make? Well, considering they found out the truth.

"H-Hey Pep," Adelaide said, standing up from the couch, nervously tugging at the hem of her shirt, "You're home early."

Pepper sighed taking off her coat and throwing it around her arm.

"Oh, don't remind me. Tony said he wanted to get out of there early, he said something about the press shoving questions down his throat. I mean, it's never bothered him before," the woman said distractedly, placing her clutch on the table, "I will never understand men."

"Well where is he?" Adelaide asked, glancing at Ned whose red face would definitely give them away even before he opened his mouth.

"He's down in the lobby, talking to Happy," she said, glancing up from her phone, "Oh, hi Ned, have you been here long?" Adelaide watched her. At least she was distracted. That was good. For them, at least.

"Um, no. Actually, I was just leaving," he said, glancing at Adelaide who gave him a subtle nod. He got up, putting his laptop back in his backpack.

"I would invite you to dinner, but I honestly don't know if we're even having one," she said with a small laugh, "Well, it was good to see you again, Ned, but I have got to get out of this dress, it is killing my back." She headed over to her room, grabbing her clutch along the way. Once she was gone, Ned turned to Adelaide.

"I'll work on it at home and I'll tell you if anything happens." She nodded, twisting her hands together.

"Be safe, okay?" she said. He nodded.

"I will, don't worry." Adelaide nodded nervously, thinking of the worst as he walked into the elevator. Ned, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get home. This was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life. He was practically a spy! He felt himself smiling, thinking about how cool his life had become all of a sudden.

* * *

Adelaide had stayed up all night (yes, again) for the past three nights in wait for any news from Ned. As much she wanted him to get through to the database, she also wanted to make sure that he was okay. They had no idea who they were up against here and it could blow up in their faces if they weren't careful enough. Even then, Ned still hadn't been able to get into the database. Adelaide sighed, rubbing her eyes. How did it get so complicated? It was probably the millionth time she had asked herself that question. A few months ago, she was just a lost girl who had no idea who she was or could have been and now she was chasing after HYDRA, trying to unravel her past. Was she ever going to get a break from this chaos? Probably not.

Her phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. She slid the green button across the screen, answering it.

"Hey Pete."

" _You're still coming over today, right?"_ he asked and she chuckled, looking out the car window as Happy pulled into the Parker's driveway.

"Look outside," she said, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. She covered the phone with one hand, holding the door handle in the other. Happy was in his 'Harry' disguise just to be safe. She smiled at him.

"Thanks, Happs. You know what time you're coming right?" she asked.

"Seven on the dot," he said and she grinned, pushing open the door.

"идеальный."

Adelaide told him goodbye over her shoulder as she shut the door and then made her way to the front door of the house as she heard him pulling out of the driveway behind her. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder and raised her hand to press the doorbell when the door suddenly opened on its own. Peter grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Bye, I have to go," she said into the phone, making him laugh. He stepped aside, making room for her to come in and she did. She slid her phone into her pocket, taking off her beanie and shoving it in her coat pocket as well. Then she put her backpack down and took off her coat, hanging it on the coat rack and pulling the sleeves of her sweaters over her fingers to warm them up. Just the walk from the car to the door had almost freezed her fingers off.

"Have you started on your homework yet?" Peter asked as he disappeared into the kitchen, "Wait. Why am I even asking? Of course you haven't."

Adelaide laughed to herself, taking a seat on the couch. This time, she had a pretty good excuse for not having even started her homework. She had been restless for the past three days which didn't help with her sleeping schedule. In fact, she really didn't have one at this point. When Pepper or Tony pointed out how tired she looked or how much she was yawning, she would just tell them that she couldn't sleep because of a nightmare and they would usually buy it. Although, Adelaide suspected Pepper had an inkling that it wasn't just a nightmare. Thankfully, she hadn't acted on it.

"You want coffee?" Peter shouted from the kitchen and Adelaide yawned, almost on cue.

"I could use some," she answered, once she stopped yawning. Rubbing her face to wake herself up, she pulled out her math notebook from her backpack along with a calculator and began attacking her math homework. It was safe to say that she had no idea what she was doing but she felt the need to keep her mind from drifting off again so she kept at it until Peter appeared with the coffee a couple minutes later. He handed her the steaming cup which she wanted to just inhale, but she blew on it, taking small sips. She realized that it was strangely bitter.

"We ran out of sugar...and creamer," Peter said, seeing the expression on her face, "So really it's just black coffee. Sorry."

"Don't be," she said, taking another sip and sighing contentedly, "This is just what I need." Lately, she hadn't let the caffeine in her body run low. She always somehow found a cup of coffee in her hand and maybe that explained why she hadn't fallen asleep with her eyes open yet. That would be creepy, though.

"So have you started studying for the test this Friday?" he asked, sifting through his notes. Adelaide looked up at him.

"дерьмо! There's a test this Friday?" she asked, making him roll his eyes.

"Ada, I'm not even in your class and I know about the test," he said and it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"Hey, in my defence," she started and then paused, trying to think of a good defence. She sighed, "...I got nothing."

"Anyway, if you can get at least a B on that test, it will bring your grade up and then you can go on the field trip."

"The only way that's happening is if you take my test for me," she mumbled, sipping her coffee, "And then maybe I'd actually get an A and that would probably give Mr. Hans a heart attack and then maybe we'd get a teacher who hadn't crossed the line with his obsession with math."

"Come on, you're not so terrible at it anymore," he said, sitting back in the recliner, "You've gotten better. I think you can get at least a low B on this test."

"Fine," she grumbled, rubbing her burning eyes, "Teach me math, Math Whiz."

For the next few minutes, Peter just showed her examples of problems from the textbook and they both solved them together, step by step until Peter slowly began letting Adelaide do the whole problem by herself. Not so long after, she had gotten the hang of it and was good enough to do her homework problems by herself. Peter pulled out his notebook, starting his own homework which was twice as much as Adelaide's. Still, he didn't mind helping her out — it was fun. Plus, he always got a kick out of how math was one of the few things that made her lose her chill.

"So are you really not going to join the Decathlon team?" he asked her without looking up, typing something into his calculator. Adelaide paused, glancing at him.

"No, I'm not."

"But Liz said they need you on the team," he argued.

"Pete, have you really not seen how bad I am at math?" she said and he rolled his eyes.

"You're good at other stuff. Like languages and Chemistry. You could do that," he said.

"Why do you want me to join the team so badly?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. He shrugged.

"It's just...I mean, I've been waiting for like three years to join the Decathlon team and I've worked hard to keep my grades up and everything. Even then, I still wasn't sure if I'd make it. And then you waltz in here and get an application and you just say no? Why?"

Adelaide sighed, putting her pencil down. She couldn't tell him that it was because Liz bothered her. The reason sounded stupid, even to her.

"I just have a lot going on in my life right now, okay? I can't add the Decathlon to that mix," she said and Peter stared at her for another second before nodding.

"Yeah, okay," was all he said. They both worked on their own homework silently afterwards, avoiding the topic entirely. Adelaide felt weird as the silence dragged on. Why did Liz bother her so much? What made Adelaide so different from her? Not that she was saying that they should, but why couldn't Peter and Ned stare at her like they did with Liz Allan? Again, not that she wanted them to, but was there just nothing...attractive about her? She almost laughed to herself. The teenager could almost imagine what Natasha would tell her if she figured out what she was thinking at the moment. They were fighters. They didn't have time for this stuff. Their main priority was to not get their asses kicked. Even then, somewhere deep down in her heart, she felt like she was missing out on something important. And Liz was getting all of it. Sighing in frustration, she pressed down on her pencil harder, making the led snap. Adelaide rubbed her face again and then chugged her coffee, feeling the steaming hot liquid as it went down her throat. She winced, wiping her mouth with her sweater sleeve.

"So do you want to go over the problems again?" Peter asked, looking up from his paper and glancing at her for a moment. She shrugged.

"Sure. I just need to –" She was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing and she realized it was hers. She dug into her pocket, pulling it out. Her eyes widened almost reflexively. It was Ned. She slid the green button across the screen, hastily holding the phone up to her ear.

"What is it?" she asked, breathless. Did he find something? Was he in trouble? For a second, she almost forgot Peter was sitting there. She collected herself as much as she could, trying not to let him get suspicious.

" _I finally got in,"_ Ned said. He sounded out of breath, as if he was climbing stairs. " _I'm on my way over to the Tower now."_

Adelaide was already up, packing her stuff up. She ended the call and slipped her phone into her pocket, grabbing her notebook. Peter stood up, looking worried.

"What's wrong? Who was that?" he asked and Adelaide glanced at him nervously, trying to muster up a plausible excuse. She pushed her hair behind her ears, swallowing.

"черт возьми," Adelaide mumbled, rubbing her forehead, "That was um…Ned. He just reminded me of this big math project we have to finish together and it's due, um, tomorrow so I really have to go," she said, pulling on her coat, "Sorry, but thanks for your help. I'll see you Monday, okay?"

Before Peter could even figure out what was going on or what to say, Adelaide had her backpack slung over her shoulder and she was already out the door. Peter stood there for a long minute, absolutely dumbfounded. What just happened? Suddenly, his phone rang, pulling him out of his spiraling thoughts. He dug it out of his pocket, still in daze. He didn't even glance at the caller ID.

" _Hey Peter,"_ Ned said, sounding completely out of breath. Thank God, thought Peter. Maybe Ned would tell him what was going on.

"Hey Ned, what's –"

" _Listen, sorry, but I won't be able to come over tonight to make the Lego Invader Fleet. Adelaide just reminded me about this, uh...math project we have to do together and it's due, um, today. Raincheck for tomorrow?"_

"Uh–"

" _Great, thanks Peter!"_

Then Ned hung up the phone, leaving Peter completely and utterly baffled. _What in the world_ just happened? He rubbed his forehead, feeling his head ache. One thing was for sure: they were both lying to him which meant that they were hiding something. Ada had said that Ned reminded her about the project and Ned said Ada had reminded him. And they both said different due dates. So what were they really doing? What were they hiding from him?

Suddenly, the most absurd thought struck Peter and he shook his head at it's craziness. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense even though he didn't want it to. All the signs pointed towards it. It explained why Ada had been acting weird and why the two of them lied to him.

Ned and Ada were dating behind his back.

* * *

 **A/N: LMAOOOO I think this part is so funny, I laughed for a solid five minutes writing this. But don't worry, I'm not gonna make it a love triangle because I haaaate those things. Like, it was fine when I was 12, but my bar has raised since then. And plus, I'd never do that to you guys. I can't wait to get where we're goinggggg.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I made it! I'm actually on time! Btw, I wrote this chapter in two days since I was so late with the last one, I wanted this one to be on time so I could get back in my timeline. Surprisingly, I didn't lose any sleep over it. Ya girl got 12 hours of sleep last night. I cannot remember that happened last time. The last time I got a really good sleep was back in the womb so it's been a while.**

 **ANYway, moving on...**

 **THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER WHERE PETER IS PLAIN OLD PETER PARKER AND I'M FREAKING OUT BECAUSE I'M GONNA MISS MY PETER BABY WHYYYY. I actually, genuinely feel sad, and I just want Peter to stay good ol' Peter Parker forever so nothing bad happens to anyone. I almost don't want to write it, but what can you do. A girl's gotta eat. Lol just kidding, I'm not making any money off of this, just good vibes. *peace sign* Before we stop being emotional, I just wanna say that this chapter is the last time that Pete's gonna push his glasses up and I'M GONNA MISS WRITING THAT HABIT. WHY AM I CRYING,.**

 **Okay, so before the dam breaks, I just wanna say something about this plot. So I noticed that a lot of other fanfics start with the part where Peter's already Spider-Man and I think that's great, but the reason that Adie didn't start off there was because I felt like she should get to know the dorky Peter Parker before he turned into Spider-Man because I feel like those two Peter Parkers are different people, you know? Anyway, I just really wanted Adie to get to know him first and then even be there through his transition and all the hard times and defining moments so she doesn't seem really shallow. Again, I'm not trying to step on other fanfics, I just felt like I needed to express this for some reason and it's all just my personal opinion. I mean, we've kind of started to see how Adie is low-key jealous of Liz even though she doesn't realize that it's not because of her skirts (although, it kind of is?) but because Peter likes her and anyway it's gonna take a lonnggggggggggggggggg time for her to finally realize that and I think it takes her a longer time since Peter changes so much after he becomes Spider-Man and it's like she has to get to know Peter all over again. So it's still a way down the road, but I kinda just wanted to explain the reason why I set this fanfic so early in the timeline. And this is kind of like a tribute to our old Peter Parker who I'm dearly going to miss writing.**

 **A final toast, to our dorky non-Spider-Man Peter Parker.**

 **Thanks to: _eldergrayskill, Kezman1993, aprickoffiction,_ and _LilPrincess95._ You guys make the best readers any writer could ever ask for!**

* * *

 _"I...I don't know._

 _This is the first time_

 _I've ever hacked into HYDRA before."_

* * *

The whole ride home, Adelaide was a nervous wreck, driving Happy crazy as she kept tapping her foot nonstop. He was just as relieved as her when they arrived at the Tower. In an instant, the teenager was out of the car and inside the building. Frantically, she jumped into the elevator and pressed the top floor button to the point of abuse until the elevator finally began moving. For a moment, she tried to control her breathing, wrapping her arms around herself.

Was Ned already here? Did he already know something? What was it? What did he know? Oh God, what if it was an ugly truth? What if all of the terrible things that she thought about her past were actually true? She swallowed, her throat dry. How long did it take a damn elevator to get to the top floor?

What seemed like hours later, she arrived at the penthouse and the elevator doors opened. Adelaide stumbled out, her eyes scanning the room for Ned. Instead, she saw Pepper sitting on the couch, looking at the teenager strangely.

"Hey Adelaide," she said, "You up for some tv?"

Adelaide barely heard what she was saying.

"No...I, uh...Ned. Here. Have you seen Ned?" she stuttered, barely managing to get all of the words out. Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, he's waiting for you in your room. Said it was something important. Is everything okay?" the woman asked, standing up. Adelaide swallowed, rubbing her sweaty palms against her jeans. She pulled her lips in, stalling to think of an excuse.

"Y-Yeah, everything's fine."

"Why do you look so frantic? Adelaide, you can tell me if there's something wrong, you know," Pepper said, looking concerned as she took a step closer. Adelaide took a step back reflexively as if the woman would see her lie if she was too close. With her red face and sweat on her forehead, she just might.

"Um, I just forgot that we have this, um, math project due tomorrow and we haven't really started on it so I'm just gonna…" She trailed off, hoping Pepper wouldn't ask anymore questions.

"Oh," the woman said, masking a looking of understanding, "Well I'll let you get right to it. But don't be too late, dinner's in an hour."

"Noted," the teenager said, rushing to her room. Pepper sighed, sitting back down on the couch and resuming her to her tv. Teenagers.

Once she was out of sight from Pepper, Adelaide sprinted down the hall, towards her room. The door was slightly ajar and she immediately pushed it open and stumbled inside. Ned was sitting at her desk, staring at the computer screen with beads of sweat lining his forehead. He turned around when he saw her standing at the door.

"Oh thank God you're here," he said, relieved, standing up. Adelaide tried to control her breathing, dropping her backpack on the floor. She swallowed, walking towards him.

"Did you open anything?" she asked, her voice quiet. Ned shook his head.

"No, not yet, but it was _really_ hard so hurry up, I wanna see what's inside." She nodded slightly, walking towards the open computer. There was a flashing cursor on the screen, waiting for the command. She glanced at Ned.

"Do it," she said and he nodded, getting back into the chair. She watched him type something into the terminal, holding her breath. Was she really going to get answers this time? Ned glanced at her, his finger hovering over the _enter_ button.

"Are you sure you want to do this? There's no turning back," he warned. Once they were inside, HYDRA would be able to track their presence. They had no ideas what the consequences could be.

Slowly, Adelaide gave him a small nod and then he pressed the button. One agonizingly long second later, the computer began scanning a million different files, running through millions of pictures and documents that went by too fast for Adelaide to comprehend them. She watched in awe, wondering how many of them hid secrets about her.

"I should warn you that I only have access to files with the tag _Rivers_. There's no way I could have been able to get access to everything, it's too secure," he said. Adelaide nodded, understanding.

"We just need to find out about what happened with the my parents and me," she said. She had no interest in the other things. Well, not at the moment, at least. Besides, if the Avengers and SHIELD were struggling to get access to the entire HYDRA database, she doubted Ned could have done it single-handedly. For now, this was enough.

Suddenly the screen went dark. Adelaide glanced at Ned, frantic.

"What is it? What happened?" He pressed a bunch of keys, trying to reboot the system, but nothing seemed to be working. The computer was unresponsive. And then, a single white cursor began flashing on the screen. The two teenagers held their breath, mesmerized by the cursor. A moment later, text began writing itself across the screen, filling up the entire screen in seconds. Adelaide glanced at Ned.

"Is that...normal?"

"I...I don't know. This is the first time I've ever hacked into HYDRA before."

The text came unraveling for a while before it finally stopped, the blinking cursor at the bottom of the screen now, under all of the text. Adelaide held her breath, waiting for something weird to happen again. But nothing happened and the cursor kept blinking. A little while later, it got pretty annoying.

"Do something," she whispered. Ned typed something. It looked like a very strange string of numbers and characters to Adelaide and she didn't bother asking what it meant. Suddenly, the screen flashed a sign.

 _ERROR!_

 _WARNING! TWO ATTEMPTS LEFT!_

"Shoot," mumbled Ned. Adelaide felt a headache coming.

"What is it now?" she asked. Ned scanned all of the text, trying to make sense of it.

"I got access to the files, but...they're encrypted," he said.

"Why? Why? Why does HYDRA have to encrypt everything? Why can't they just make things a little easier for me? Why?" Adelaide groaned, falling onto her bed and staring at the ceiling. She felt her anxiety dropping. Another dead end.

"Well, wait a second," Ned said, turning around and facing the computer again and reading the text, "I think I can decrypt this."

Adelaide jumped up instantly.

"Really? How long? Can you do it now?" Ned scratched his head, shrugging.

"Well...it takes more than a couple minutes, but...wait a second," he said and he typed something else. Adelaide watched the computer screen carefully.

"It'll take a couple of minutes, but I can figure out the names of the files, at least. Maybe that will trigger something in your memory until I can decrypt all of the files," he said.

"Do it, do it, do it," she urged and Ned raised an eyebrow. She pulled her lips in clearing her throat. "Sorry, I'll give you some space."

Adelaide stepped away and then flopped down on her bed again. She closed her eyes, letting out a long and tired sigh. For once in a very, very long time, her mind was blank. There were no thoughts about HYDRA or her parents or her powers or the Decathlon or Liz. For once, she was completely calm.

And then Ned jumped up in his seat. She glanced at the clock. It had already been 30 minutes since she'd been lying here. How had it been 30 minutes already? And she hadn't been even thinking of anything.

"I got the names!" he said and she stood up, walking over to the computer. He scrolled down through all of the confusing text until he came across something that actually made sense. It was English. She had never been so relieved to see English and...Russian? Was that Russian?

"Can you read the Russian parts?" he asked. She chewed the inside of her cheek, concentrating. It had been a while since she'd read any Russian.

"Um, it says...пробный which means...Pilot?" she said. She glanced at Ned, confused.

"What does that mean?" she asked. He thought about it for a second.

"Maybe they were pilots?" he asked. Adelaide considered it.

"No, I don't think so..."

"Oh! Maybe it's like a trail run," he said and Adelaide gave him a confused look, "You know, like how tv shows call their first episode Pilot?"

"I didn't know that," she mumbled, staring at the screen again, "So you think it's a trial run?"

"Could be," he said, shrugging with one shoulder.

"Trial run of what?" she asked.

"Dunno, read the others." She leaned down, scanning over the Russian.

"The rest just say _Trial 1A_ or _Trial 109G_ ," she said with a sigh. That only told her that they were running trials of something. But what?

"What do you think they were trialing?" he asked. Adelaide shrugged, running her hands through her hair tiredly.

"I have no idea," she sighed.

"Well, at least we know what's in the files. Reports of some trial they were having," he said, clicking something.

"It's not much help," she mumbled.

"Look, I'll keep trying to decrypt these files, but it'll take some time okay?" he said, flipping his laptop shut and standing up.

"Yeah, okay," she mumbled.

"I don't want to find out what happens when we have zero attempts left," Ned said with a shiver. Adelaide wasn't too keen on finding out either.

"Be careful," she said, "And keep me updated."

"You too," he said, walking towards the door. Adelaide slumped down in her chair, staring out the window.

"Hey Ned?" she said, stopping him just before he left. He turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she smiled. He smiled back.

"You're my friend," he simply said and Adelaide gave him a small nod as he left. She turned around again, facing the window and sighed. She pushed the sleeve of her sweater up, revealing the rugged scar on her arm. The only proof of that night. She ran her thumb over it gently, her jaw tightening.

She couldn't wait to get her hands on the man who killed her parents.

* * *

"Congratulations Miss Rivers," Mr. Hans said as he passed her latest Algebra test to her, "It was a very...surprising improvement."

Adelaide took the paper from his hands, scanning the test for red marks. There was one, at the top and it read a big fat B. Adelaide felt herself grinning.

"Yes! I made a B!" she said and Ned grinned next to her.

"Let me see that!" he said, snatching the paper from her hands. His face lit up at the letter and he held up his hand to give her a high five.

"Now I get to go on that stupid field trip," she laughed, high fiving him. Ned frowned.

"For the last time, Adelaide, there is nothing stupid about radioactive spiders," he said. Adelaide shrugged.

"Stupid or not, I get to miss class," she said and Ned rolled his eyes. The field trip was tomorrow, but Adelaide wasn't as excited as everyone else to see some weirdo spiders. She was just happy to get out of class.

It had been about a week since Ned had gotten into HYDRA's database, yet all they had were the names of the stupid files. Adelaide had read through every file (there were a few hundred) and none of them even offered a hint to what was inside them. Other than the fact that they were experiments of some kind. Adelaide had gone crazy just thinking of what it could be. But the part that scared her the most was what would happen when the attempts turned to zero. Would HYDRA come for them? She didn't want to find out so she was telling Ned to take his time decrypting the files. Even if the curiosity would kill her. Better that than HYDRA.

* * *

The day had quickly ended and soon, they were all standing outside, waiting to go home. It was the last day of November and the snow was yet to fall in New York. The weather had just gotten chillier and windier, but there was still no sign of snow. It had gotten to the point where you'd freeze if you went outside without a coat, even on accident. Even then, Peter, Ned, and Adelaide were all huddled close together to keep warm, despite the huge coats that they were wearing. Adelaide rubbed her gloved hands together to warm them up, shivering.

She glanced at Peter who was standing next to her, staring at the ground, looking lost in thought. Adelaide looked at Ned, silently asking him if he knew what was going on with Peter. He shrugged. Peter had been acting strange all week. Whenever they made plans to do something together, Peter always made an excuse that he had homework or other plans. In fact, the three of them hadn't hung out all week long. She knew there was something wrong, but she figured that he would tell them whenever he was ready. It had been a week now, and he still hadn't said anything to either of them. Adelaide nudged him with her elbow, making him look up from the concrete.

"You okay, Pete?" she asked. He glanced between his two friends and then shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said and then went back to staring at the concrete. Adelaide and Ned shared a worried look. There was definitely something going on with their friend.

"Seriously, Pete. You're a terrible liar," she said, nudging him with her elbow again. He looked at her and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then someone called his name, interrupting their conversation.

"Peter!" someone called and the three of them turned around to see who it was. Adelaide silently groaned. Little Miss Perfect, Liz Allan. She jogged up to them, a perfect smile on her face. Adelaide rolled her eyes at herself. She was jealous of a girl who _chose_ wear skirts. Adelaide glanced at Peter whose face was red as a tomato and bright as a lightbulb. Could he be any more obvious?

"L-Liz," he stuttered, "Hi." She smiled.

"Hey," she said, slightly out of breath, "I need a huge favor."

Peter cleared his throat. Liz Allan needed a favor from him? Peter Parker? He nervously pushed his glasses up his nose, trying to get his hand to stop shaking.

"A f-favor?"

"I need someone to take pictures at the field trip tomorrow. I would do it myself, but Mr. Harrington asked me to take notes so would you mind…?" Adelaide sighed. Liz had asked so nicely, even Adelaide would have said yes.

"U-Uh, yeah! Sure!"

"You have a camera, right? If you don't, I can just ask Flash to take the pictures," she said. Peter was shaking his head before she even finished her sentence.

"No, no, no, no. I-I have a camera. A really good one, too," he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Liz smiled.

"Great! I'll let Mr. Harrington know. Thanks so much, Peter," she said. Peter grinned like an idiot.

"N-No problem," he said. With one last smile, she turned around and headed back inside. Peter was still in daze even after she left, grinning like a total idiot.

"I need a camera," he said through his smile. Adelaide looked at him.

"What?" she asked. He turned away, facing Adelaide.

"I don't have a camera," he whispered and Adelaide blinked at him.

"Then why'd you tell her you had a really good one?" she asked, not understanding.

"It's not like I was going to let Flash take the pictures instead! And besides, she came to me first. That's gotta count for something," he said and Adelaide groaned.

"Well what are you going to do now?" Ned asked and Peter sighed, shrugging.

"I don't know. Do you think Ben would buy me a really expensive camera tonight if I ask nicely?" Ned gave him a pointed look and Peter sighed.

"You're right," he mumbled, "What was I thinking? Now she's going to think I'm irresponsible."

Adelaide watched him, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she considered something. A moment later, she sighed, giving in.

"I have a camera that you can use," she said and Peter lit up.

"Really?! Is it the good kind?"

"I think so. I have to ask Ton-Tim. Tim. I have to ask Tim if I can borrow it, but I'm pretty sure he won't mind." Ned gave her a knowing wink and Adelaide shook her head, smiling.

"Thanks, Ada. You're the best," he said. She smiled. Just then, a car honked, pulling them out of their conversation. It was Happy.

"I'll come drop it off later," she said, heading towards the car.

"Wait," Peter said, stopping her. She turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't I come pick it up at your house? You can text me the address," he said and Adelaide frowned.

"Don't worry about it," she said, "I don't mind dropping it off. I'll see you later." Before he could ask any more questions, Adelaide quickly got into the car and shut the door. Peter frowned, slightly confused.

"Why doesn't she want me to come to her house?" he asked Ned, "She's come over a lot of times to mine. Have you ever been to her house?" Ned held his breath, trying to keep the truth from spilling out.

"No," he breathed, "Maybe she just doesn't want us to see her house because it's, um, really small."

"But we've been friends for almost a year," Peter said, "She still doesn't trust us?"

"My mom's here!" Ned blurted, "Gotta go! See you!" Ned quickly ran to his car, getting inside before he accidentally told Peter anything. Once he was inside, he was able to breathe again. Lying was hard and he definitely wasn't very good at it.

* * *

"Just wait out here, I'll be back in a minute," Adelaide told Happy, grabbing Tony's camera and stepping out of the car.

"Make it quick. It's freezing out here," he said. Pulling her coat closer, she closed the car door and followed the path up to the front door. A breeze flew by and Adelaide shivered underneath her coat. She rang the bell and waited. A moment later, she heard Peter shouting.

"I got it!" She heard the locks opening and then Peter swung open the door, a bright grin on his face.

"Come in!" he said, opening the door wider.

"Oh no, I just came to drop –" He pulled her inside and then closed the door behind her.

"I need your help," he said and began heading up stairs. Adelaide stood there for a moment, collecting her thoughts before she realized she should probably follow him.

"Peter?" she heard May call, "Is that Adelaide?"

"Yes May!" he shouted back.

"Tell her to come into the kitchen!"

"She's busy!" Peter shouted back, pushing open the door to his room and Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"What exactly am I busy doing?" she asked.

"I need you to help me pick out something to wear tomorrow," he said. Adelaide frowned, staring at all of the clothes laid out on his bed.

"Pete, it's just a field trip," she said.

"I know, but Liz is gonna be there! I gotta dress nice! How's this sweater?" he said, holding up a blue sweater.

"Seriously, Peter, it's just a field trip," she said, sitting down on the bed. Well, whatever part of the bed that wasn't covered by clothes.

"How's this one?" he asked, holding up a green one.

"Just wear what you always wear," she said and he sighed, sitting down next to her.

"You're right," he said, throwing the sweaters on the bed space behind him. Adelaide watched him carefully.

"Here," she said softly, handing him the camera bag. He glanced at her before he took it from her, opening up the case. His eyes grew wide when he saw the camera.

"Holy crap! Ada, this is _the best camera in the world_! It costs a fortune!"

"Tim never settles for less," she mumbled.

"Wow! This - This is amazing! Thank you so much!" he said and she smiled.

"You're my friend," she said quietly and he glanced at her as if he wanted to say something before staring at the carpet.

"So are you still not going to tell me what's wrong?" she asked, bumping her shoulder with his. He pushed his glasses up. "C'mon Pete. You can tell me."

He sighed, fidgeting with the chain on the camera case.

"It's just...I don't know. I feel like you're drifting away from me," he said, "You and Ned both." Adelaide felt her face losing its color. He was onto their secret. This was bad. This was really bad.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Peter glanced at her again.

"Are...Are you and...Ned secretly…dating?" he asked. Adelaide wasn't sure if she'd heard him right.

"I'm sorry, did you say...dating?" He nodded and Adelaide burst out laughing. She was so relieved that that's what he thought they were doing.

"Oh my god, Pete. I can promise you, that there is nothing going on between us. Ned's my friend. I don't think of him that way," she said. Peter felt relief coursing through his body.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," he chuckled and Adelaide laughed, shaking her head. He was so glad that their friendship wasn't going to become awkward.

"I don't get it," Adelaide said, "Why would you think that?"

"No reason,'' he said, slightly embarrassed now. Adelaide shook her head.

"God, Pete. You scared me. I thought there was something seriously wrong," she said. He chuckled.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So we're good now?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're good," he said and she smiled. Suddenly her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. Happy. He must be freezing in the car.

"I have to go," she said, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Peter nodded, watching her leave. Sighing, he opened up the camera, looking at it again. He was glad that his best friends weren't dating, but he still couldn't help but feel like there was a growing distance between them. They just didn't spend enough time together. Not like they used to, anyway.

Peter shook his head. He was turning into a girl. Everything was fine. He was just looking too far into it. He pushed his glasses up and began packing for the field trip tomorrow.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I know this is a little late, but I've been drowning is essays all week long and no matter how fast I finish my work, I can never actually _finish_ , if that makes sense lol. I would've uploaded it yesterday, but I forgot and it was 12:30 so I made sure to not forget today. Technically it's almost tomorrow lol. Anyway, enough about my sob story.**

 **So remember how I said last chapter was the last time Peter was going to push his glasses up? Well, I lied. I'm sorry, but I just can't help it! That little action is so cute for some reason and I love it so much even though it gets on Adelaide's nerves. I think he ends up doing it like 5 times in this chapter so just bear with me because I have no self-control. This will be the last chapter where he does that, I promise. Well, not _promise_ promise. **

**Most of this chapter is the scene from the field trip and the whole HYDRA things has been kind of put on hold for now. Well, let's just say Ned's working on it. The chapter is mostly focused on Peter because it's so important to his development, obviously. He's gonna be Spider-Man now. No more superpowerless Peter Parker. I'm gonna miss him, though. I wish he could stay that way forever. Innocent and shielded from the horrors of the superhero world. All that responsibility...**

 **So I have a question for you guys...I actually saw another author doing this and I thought it was a pretty neat idea so I guess I'm going to start doing this, too. Basically, I'll ask you a question about the chapter or plot or just stuff in general I guess cause I think it'll be kind of fun to see your answers. Depending on the chapter, the question will be either before or after. So here's the one for this chapter:**

 _ **If you could have one superpower from any character in the MCU, which character and what superpower would it be?**_ **For me, I'd say Scarlet Witch because I love her and I love her powers and I love Elizabeth Olsen; she's so beautiful it hurts.**

 _ **Flufflymarshmallows: I can't wait for all the cool things that happen after he's Spider-Man even though I'll miss fetus Peter lol.**_

 **Anyway, enough of all this, I won't hold off the chapter any longer so here it is! By the way, it hasn't really been proofread and the next chapter might be a little late too because I have stuff going on this weekend. Sorry. :/**

* * *

" _Everything is going_ _to change, Peter._

 _Nothing is ever_ _going_

 _to be the same again."_

* * *

 _DECEMBER 1, 2015_

The day did not start out as Peter Parker had planned. His alarm didn't ring on time and he realized he only had five minutes to leave the house before he would miss the bus so he had to substitute a shower with just a splash of cold water (thank god he had decided to shower last night). He had been in a such a rush that he had almost left the camera at home and he had to run out of the car and back inside, up the stairs and back outside, all within 15 seconds. Then, he had to rush Ben to go faster (he only went ten over the speed limit) so they would get to school before the bus left for the field trip.

"Bye Uncle Ben!" Peter shouted over his shoulder as he stumbled out of his uncle's car.

"Bye kiddo! Have fun!" Ben shouted after him. He watched his nephew as he ran towards the school bus, almost tripping over the raised sidewalk. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

Peter held onto his backpack as he ran towards the school bus. He was just seconds away when it began moving.

"Wait!" he shouted. That caught Flash's attention who was sitting in the back. He began laughing and everyone in the bus started chanting _Penis! Parker!_ Peter groaned at his insufferable nickname, trying to catch up to the bus. Suddenly, he saw Ada appear next to Flash and Peter waved at her, signaling to tell her to stop the bus. She gave him a small nod, Flash a quick flick on his head, and disappeared again. Slowly, the bus came to a stop and Peter let out a relieved sigh, jogging up to the entrance.

The doors opened, and he climbed inside, the bus driver giving him a dirty look as he did so.

"Pete!" Adelaide shouted to get his attention, pointing to the seat behind her where Ned was seated. Peter pushed his way through the aisle, almost tripping and falling on his face when the bus driver started the bus again. Somehow, he plopped down next to Ned in one piece. He groaned, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, trying to catch his breath. This day could not be any worse and it was only 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Tough morning?" Adelaide asked, noticing how tired he looked.

"You have no idea," he groaned and Ned patted his shoulder.

"Excited?" she asked. She was in an awkward position where she was turned around in her own seat and sitting on her knees so she could see Ned and Peter who were sitting behind her. Who the hell had decided to make these seats so damn tall? Sitting next to her was Michelle, reading a book, as usual. When Adelaide had greeted her, she only got the usual response which was a slightly annoyed grunt.

"You bet," Peter answered, a smile slowly appearing onto his face.

"Excited? I'm literally bouncing in my seat!" Ned said, which was partly true. It was a very bumpy ride. Soon, they arrived and Mr. Harrington ordered everybody off of the bus in an orderly fashion. They stepped off, taking a moment to stretch their limbs. The ride here wasn't that long, thankfully.

"I want no talking once we're inside and, please, stick to your assigned buddy," Mr. Harrington instructed. Adelaide nudged Michelle.

"Hey, buddy." She just gave her glare in return and Adelaide rolled her eyes. Slowly, they all began walking inside and Mr. Harrington shushed everyone as soon as they stepped foot in the building.

"I can't believe we're finally gonna see the spiders!" Ned whispered to Peter once they had passed Mr. Harrington. Although, it was loud enough for Adelaide to hear, too.

"I can't believe I actually get to miss Algebra for this load of crap," Adelaide whispered back and Mr. Harrington glared at her from across the room. She gave him a sheepish smile and turned around.

"It is _so_ not a load of crap," Peter whispered back once Mr. Harrington had turned away. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

A few moments later, their tour guide appeared in front of them. She didn't look too excited about the spiders, either. Adelaide immediately liked her. Finally, someone who wasn't overly obsessed with spiders. Why couldn't they have gone to a water park instead? Well, maybe that wouldn't have been the best idea in December…

"Good morning, Midtown High. My name is Una Damon and I will be your tour guide for today. As instructed, please stay with your buddies and do not wander around. Do not touch, smell, or taste anything unless instructed to do so. Any questions?"

Flash raised his hand.

"So can we take one of the spiders home?" he asked and his friends snickered around him. Mr. Harrington glared at him.

"No, you may _not_ take _any_ of the spiders home. Any real questions?" the tour guide asked. No one raised their hand.

"Alright, then," she nodded, "Follow me." She turned sharply and then the tour began.

They entered a hallway and exited into a big room that looked like an exhibit. Adelaide glanced around. This was definitely the spider exhibit and an arachnophobes worst nightmare. Good thing she wasn't scared of spiders.

"32,000 species of known spider in the world," the tour guide began, "They're in the order Arachne which is divided…"

"Wow," Peter breathed, taking in the exhibit, "that's amazing. This is the most advanced electron microscope on the eastern seaboard. It's unreal."

"...Arachnids from all three groups possess varying strengths which help them in their constant search for food," the tour guide continued. Peter watched Liz from the corner of his eye as she was saying something to Betty Brant, making her laugh. He smiled to himself. She was so…

"Pete!" Ada whisper-yelled at him when he bumped into her. Peter took a moment to recollect his thoughts again, stepping out of the trance that he'd gone in to.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Liz passed by him and he smiled at her awkwardly, pushing his glasses up his nose. **(A/N: I couldn't help it!)** She gave him a polite smile and moved past him so she could hear the tour guide better.

"For example," the tour guide said, "the Delana spider, family Sparassidae, has the ability to jump to catch its prey." They stopped in front of a glass cage, where there was a fuzzy, brown spider crawling a twig. Adelaide wrinkled her nose. So he could jump. So could she. She couldn't understand why it was such a big deal.

Peter raised his camera, glancing at the tour guide lady for permission.

"For the school paper?" he asked.

"Mhmm," she nodded. Peter smiled and then focused the camera on the spider, his finger hovering over the button. Suddenly, someone shoved his shoulder and made him press the button, capturing a blurry picture of the tiled floor. Peter looked over his shoulder to see Flash and his friends snickering. Peter sighed and turned away, following the tour guide to the next spider.

"Next, we have the Net-Web spider," she said, walking up to the display. Family Phyllis Teddidae, Genes Cuckoocannea. It spins an intricate funnel-shaped web whose strands have a tensile strength proportionately equal to the type of high tension wire." Peter raised his camera to take a picture when Flash bumped his shoulder again, making him lose focus. Adelaide noticed the movement from the corner of her eye and she saw Flash's smirk aimed at Peter.

"Leave him alone," she whispered to him with gritted teeth.

"Or what?" Flash said. One of his friends snickered from beside him.

"Or she's gonna come over there and sissy punch you," he said and then they both bursted out laughing, giving each other a high five.

" _What_ is going on?" Mr. Harrington said, appearing next to them, "The next person who talks will fail this course. I kid you not. Let's go." Rolling her eyes, she followed Mr. Harrington to the next spider.

"...This grass spider hunts using a set of reflexes with nerve conduction velocities so fast that some researchers believe it almost borders on precognition."

Adelaide lightly bumped her shoulder with Peter's once they were clear of watchman Harrington.

"Don't listen to Flash," she said, "He has the mental capacity even less than these spiders." Peter smiled.

"Hey," he said, pretending to be offended, "these spiders are pretty smart, you know."

"Oh yeah? I bet they can't do math better than you," she teased and he glanced at her, smiling. He decided to go along with it.

"Well, maybe not, but they can definitely do math better than you," he joked and she faked a gasp which ended in laughter.

"You know, you're probably not that wrong," she said with a small shake of her head. The two of them walked up to Ned who was intently watching a spider in its cage.

"Look at that," Ned breathed, sounded completely awestruck.

"Some spiders change colors to blend into their environment," Peter said, watching the spider, "It's a defense mechanism."

"Peter," Adelaide groaned, "What makes you think I would want to know that." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Who wouldn't?" The three of them followed the tour guide through the exhibit. Michelle had disappeared sometime during the discussion of, well, spiders and Adelaide was willing to bet money that she had found a comfortable corner to read her book in and that's where she was right now. So much for sticking with your buddies. Adelaide turned away from Peter and Ned, looking at a spider cage.

"Over five painstaking years, Columbia's genetic research facility…" Ned silently nudged Peter to get his attention. He jutted his chin towards Liz who was standing in front of them, looking at the spiders.

"Are you gonna talk to her now?" Ned asked him. Peter laughed nervously, feeling his palms beginning to sweat.

"Oh, no, no way," he chuckled. Ned gave him a pointed look.

"You have to do it before…" Suddenly, Flash appeared next to Liz, glancing at her. Ned and Peter shared a look before Peter sighed.

"Disgusting," he heard Liz say.

"Yeah, I hate those little things," Flash mumbled. Liz glanced at him, grinning.

"I love 'em," she said.

"Yeah, me too," he said, trying to come off as cool. Peter took a deep breath.

"I'm gonna go," he whispered to Ned. Ned grinned, giving him a thumbs up. He mouthed 'Good luck' to him as he stepped towards Liz.

"You know," Flash began, "spiders can change their color to blend into their environment."

"Really?" Liz asked cooly.

"Yeah, it's a defense mechanism," he said. Peter felt his smile dropping. Flash had heard him when he had said it to Ned and now he had lost his chance with Liz. Flash looked over his shoulder, smirking at Peter and winking.

"Cool," she said.

"...the RNA to encode an entirely new genome, combining the genetic information from all three spiders into these 15 genetically designed super-spiders."

Adelaide who had been oblivious to the whole situation that had unfolded behind her, was watching the cage carefully (the spiders had become somewhat interesting) when she realized there weren't 15 spiders.

"There's 14," she said, straightening up.

"I beg your pardon?" the tour guide said.

"One's missing," she clarified. The tour guide watched her for a second before stepping closer to see if she was actually right and she, in fact, was.

"Huh," the tour guide said, "I guess the researchers are working on that one." She stepped away from the cage and moved on to the next part of the tour.

"Do you know that this is the largest electron microscope on the eastern seaboard?" Flash asked Liz. Peter felt himself turning his hand into a fist, but he was hopeless. He had missed his window.

Suddenly, Mr. Harrington appeared next to Flash again.

"You were talking throughout that woman's entire presentation," he said angrily, "Let's go talk about how we listen." He grabbed Flash's arm and dragged him away.

Liz chuckled, shaking her head and turning back to face the spiders. Now was his chance. Liz was alone again. Peter glanced at Ned who was still standing behind him. He gave him a thumbs up and then hurried away to catch up with the rest of the class. Peter took in a deep breath. He could do this. It was just Liz. He'd had long conversations with her in his head. Now he just had to do it in person. He swallowed nervously and took a step closer to her.

"H-Hey," he said, getting her attention, "Uh, can I take your picture? You know, for the school paper." She smiled at him.

"Sure," she said, "Yeah."

"Great," he smiled nervously.

"Where do you want me?" she said, moving to the side so that the spiders weren't blocked in the picture. "Over here?"

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, pushing his glasses up, "Yeah, that's great." He held the camera that was hanging around his neck, raising it.

"Don't make me look ugly," she said with a smile that made Peter's heart flutter in his chest. He swallowed, smiling.

"That's impossible," he said, stepping back to get the whole picture. He held the camera up, looking at Liz through the screen. He couldn't believe this was actually happening! His hands were shaking and he tried to steady them so the picture wouldn't be blurry. Liz held up the clipboard in her hand, pretending to look at the papers with a smile.

"Perfect," he said, taking the picture. Unknown to him and Liz, a red and blue spider crawled down its web that hung from the ceiling, making its way towards oblivious Peter Parker.

"Is that good?" Liz asked, glancing at him. Peter was sure he was red as a tomato at this point, but he didn't care. He was living the best moments of his life.

"Great," he said, snapping another picture. The spider got closer to him, but he was too focused on Liz to notice. He clicked another picture and the spider crawled closer. Then, it landed on Peter's hand.

"Liz! Let's go!" shouted Betty Brant, taking Liz's attention. She hurried away, catching up to her friend and leaving Peter behind. The spider crawled down his hand.

"Wait!" he said, "Thanks!"

The spider dug its beak into the flesh and Peter let out a shout, shaking his hand.

"Ow!" he shouted, noticing a spider crawling away on the carpet. He bent over curiously, holding his hand. The spider was tiny, with a red and blue body. Peter watched it until it disappeared under a cart. Letting out a shaky breath, Peter stood up again, inspecting the hand that was bitten. There were two tiny bite marks on the back of his right hand, just by the thumb. Before he could think about it too much, someone called his name.

"Parker!" Adelaide shouted, getting his attention. The dork had been standing there for who knew how long while the rest of the class had moved on. "Come on!"

He glanced at the spider bite on his hand and then stuffed his hand in his pocket, hoping it would go away before jogging to catch up with the rest of the class.

* * *

"You okay, Pete?" Adelaide asked, noticing how her friend had started to look slightly pale. Ned watched him, worried.

"Dude, you look sick. Maybe you should go to the doctor or something," Ned said.

"There's no...no doctor on the bus," Peter said quietly. He was hunched over in his seat with his arms wrapped around his stomach. Everything was aching and he hated to admit that he felt slightly nauseous and dizzy.

"When you get back home, dufus," Adelaide said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just tired," he excused, feeling his head start to hurt too. There was shooting pain behind his eyes and his vision became blurry. He just had to hang in there a little bit longer…

The bus was soon stopped in front of his house and Peter let out a relieved sigh. Though, even that action made his ribs hurt. He grabbed his backpack which had become surprisingly too heavy and Ned had to help him put it on. Once it was on, he stood up and he almost fell over, seeing spots in his blurry vision. He stumbled off the bus, barely making it to the front door. Everything hurt so bad. He pushed open the door and stumbled inside, almost forgetting to close the door behind himself.

"Oh, hey Peter," May said, noticing her nephew come through the door, "You're just...just in time for...dinner." She watched him carefully; something was off. Peter looked...discoordinated.

"Hey buddy, how was the field trip?" Ben asked, not noticing how strange his nephew was behaving just yet. Peter dropped his backpack on the couch, making his way to the stairs.

"I don't feel well," he said, "I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Oh," May said, confused, "You won't have a bite?"

"No thanks," Peter said, barely pushing himself up the stairs, "Had a bite." He was ready to collapse right here, on the stairs. Although, that probably wouldn't fare well for Ben and May. Ben stood up, going to stand by the stairs to see Peter.

"Did you get some pictures, Pete?"

Peter pushed himself up the last step, disappearing around the corner.

"Uh, I gotta crash. Everything's fine," he said. Ben gave May a worried look.

"What's that all about?" Ben said. Something was definitely not right with their nephew.

Finally in his room, Peter locked the door and stripped away his clothing that was starting to make him feel claustrophobic. He leaned against the table, breathing heavily. His stomach churned as if he was on a roller coaster and his skin was burning. When he opened his eyes, there were two rooms spinning and he shook his head to clear the blurriness. Instead, he got a sharp pain his head and he let out a small gasp. What was wrong with him? Why did everything hurt all of a sudden? The rooms began spinning faster and he leaned away from the table, trying to make his way to his bed.

Suddenly, everything went black and he fell onto the rug at the foot of his bed, dragging his blanket down with him.

* * *

 _All three spiders into these...genetically designed super-spiders…._

 _Super-spiders...super-spiders…_

 _Spiders._

 _There were spiders everywhere. They were red and blue. Crawling on his walls, his desk, his bed, him. Peter shook his arm, shaking off the spiders on it. They covered every inch of his room until he couldn't tell where he was anymore._

 _Peter looked around frantically. He felt faint, same as he had before...before...where was he?_

 _The spiders began getting bigger. They grew larger and larger, merging into one giant red and blue spider that was soon bigger than him. Peter stumbled backwards as its beady eyes bore into his and it snapped its beak together, as if getting ready to eat him alive. Peter's breathing grew heavy and he began to panic._

" _Penis! Parker!" the spider seemed to shout. Peter looked at it from between his hands that were covering his face. Did the spider just…?_

" _Scared, Parker?" the spider said, though its voice sounded an awful lot like Flash's…_

" _Well it's about to get a whole lot scarier," the spider said and Peter watched it, terrified. What was it going to do to him? Suddenly, the spider dissolved into the black void and Peter was at school again. He was standing in the front yard, but there was no one else there. In fact, there was no one else anywhere. It was silent._

 _He turned around, immediately regretting it. Ned and Ada were standing in front of him, holding hands._

" _We don't need Peter," Ned said. Ada grinned._

" _Yeah, let's forget about that loser," she said. Peter felt himself gagging and he closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see any more of that._

 _Then, someone tapped his shoulder. He opened one of his eyes, looking up. It was Ada and she had a smile on her face._

" _Get up, Pete," she said softly. His eyes never leaving hers, he stood up. They were on a playground and he was somehow sitting on a swing with Ada sitting on the one next to his._

" _What's going on? What's happening to me? Why am I seeing these things?" he asked. She smiled knowingly, beginning to swing slowly._

" _You're mind is playing tricks on you. Nothing is real," she said. He looked at her, confused._

" _What? Why?"_

" _Everything is going to change, Peter. Nothing is ever going to be the same again."_

" _What? What do you mean?" he asked, starting to become frantic._

" _I'm sorry, Pete, " Ada said, looking him in the eyes, "I know you didn't ask for this."_

" _Ask for what?"_

" _Everything will be fine, you'll see."_

" _What? What will be fine?" He felt Ada starting to drift away from him and he had to strain to hear her voice. She began to swing higher._

" _Just believe in yourself, Peter. You're gonna do great things," she said sadly, "Bye, Peter Parker."_

" _Wait!" he shouted after her as she began to swing even higher until she didn't come back down._

* * *

Peter shot open his eyes, breathing heavily. His mind was foggy and there was a dull ache in the back of his head. What was that annoying ticking noise? Wincing, he sat up, looking around. Why was he sleeping on the floor?

His eyes fell on his glasses sitting on his nightstand and he got up with a groan, picking them up. Yawning, he put his glasses on. When he opened his eyes, everything was blurry. He shook his head, confused. He took off his glasses, realizing something. The room suddenly became much clearer. That was weird. He put his glasses back on and everything turned blurry again. Strange. He inspected his glasses, seeing if the lenses were dirty. Oddly enough, they were perfectly clean. He put them back on, but the same thing happened again. Suspiciously, he folded his glasses up and put them into his backpack, just in case.

"Weird," he mumbled. Just as he was about to turn away, he caught his reflection in the mirror. Were those...biceps? He flexed his muscles, poking them with his finger. They were real. Unbelievable. He poked his chest and his abdomen. A six-pack! No way! Was he...did he...had he been working out lately?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Peter?" May said.

"Yeah?" he said back, his eyes never leaving his reflection.

"Are you okay in there?" she asked. Peter glanced at his abs again. Was he alright? Was he dreaming? He poked his six-pack again. No, that was _definitely_ real.

"Uh, I'm fine," he answered, surprising himself. There was certainly nothing wrong with him. Sure he had biceps and a six-pack and his glasses made things blurrier, but he felt fine. In fact, he felt better than fine. Much, much better. He flexed his biceps again.

"Are you feeling any better this morning? Any change?" May asked.

"Change?" Peter asked, his eyes traveling down to his six-pack. How sure was he that this was real? He grinned to himself.

"Yeah, big change," he said.

"Well hurry up!" May said through the door, "You're gonna be late!"

Late? Late. He had school. He was going to be late for school.

"Right," he said, hurrying to grab his clothes. He glanced in the mirror one last time before heading out.

"Let's do this," he mumbled to himself, still not believing what was happening.

"Peter!" May shouted again.

"Coming!" he shouted back, pulling his shirt on over his head and stumbling out of his room, grabbing the backpack that had appeared in front of his door. He rushed down the stairs, eager to get to school. He jumped the last few steps, landing on the floor without tripping.

"Jeez," Ben said, noticing how bouncy his nephew was behaving this morning, "I thought you were sick."

Peter grinned knowingly.

"I got better," he said with a shrug, turning away, "I better get going if I'm going to catch the bus. Bye guys!"

"But you haven't eaten anything!" May shouted after him, "Do you have your lunch money?"

"Yeah, I got it!" he said, opening the front door.

"Hey Michelangelo! Don't forget we're painting the kitchen right after school," Ben reminded him.

"Sure thing, Uncle Ben," Peter said, grinning, "Don't start without me."

"Don't start up with me," Ben replied with a smile of his own. Peter grinned over his shoulder one last time before heading out the door, jogging so he wouldn't miss the bus again. He couldn't wait to get to school today.

"Teenagers," Ben told May after Peter had left, "Raging hormones, they never change."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I'M NOT DEAD AND I'M REALLY SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPLOADING IN LIKE 3 WEEKS BUT LIFE CALLED AND I HAD SO SO SO _SO SO_ MUCH STUFF TO DO I WAS PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF BEING EVEN SLIGHTLY CREATIVE BUT IT LITERALLY TOOK ME THREE WHOLE WEEKS TO WRITE THIS DAMN CHAPTER AND I AM SUPER DUPER UPER SMUPER SORRY. Seriously, I didn't mean to ghost you guys. :') I would never do that to you or this story. I just love it too damn much. I know it doesn't make up for the super late update, but this chapter is like 8,000 words long. **

**So what happened was I had this religious thing going on for like two weekends in a row and I wasn't able to finish any of my actual homework so I was like sUpER stressed for two weeks trying to get stuff done on time and ya girl was clinically sleep deprived (and super dehydrated, but I'm always dehydrated) for two whole weeks but I am doing SO MUCH BETTER NOW. I didn't have that religious thing this weekend and I was able to get SO MUCH CRAP DONE and I literally feel so lightweight and refreshed and I'm running on a rare 10 hours of sleep like yo, that almost never happens. I finally feel a bit ahead of the game and I'm getting my work done on time so I can feel the stress dropping and yeah. I'm doing much better, but I am super sorry that I didn't update for three weeks, but college does come before this story because I'm payin' for it (well, my parents are) and I get super stressed when I don't get my work done and I can't concentrate on anything else until I get my work done, and I hate that about myself but what can you do? :/**

 **Hopefully, this disaster won't happen again and we're back on schedule. Hopefully. I kinda have no idea what's gonna happen in the last chapter so...**

 **I don't know about you, but I definitely need a refresher on what happened last time we were here. So they all went to the spider exhibit and Peter got bitten by a radioactive spider but just shrugged it off like it was no biggie because, let's face it, we all get bitten by radioactive spiders all the time. And the best thing to do is to not tell anyone. Not even if you feel sick to your stomach and pass out on the floor in your room while shaking in cold sweat. Seriously, no biggie. Then Peter wakes up and BAM he's spIDER-MAN. Wish that could happen to me. *slides Marvel a $20***

 **This chapter is mainly focused on the HYDRA and Adie thing. We do get a little bit of Graves because he's getting HELLA impatient. Being a high school coach just isn't his forté, let's be honest. And there's some Flash and Peter acting HELLA arrogant and getting in trouble for it. This chapter picks up right where the last one left off.**

 **I just wanna point out that since Peter is Spider-Man now, a lot of things are going to start happening at once and things might feel rushed, but I promise everything is according to plan which is what I have scribbled on the back of a gum wrapped somewhere in my backpack. Lmao, just kidding. I've got it planned out better than that. Well, somewhat.**

 **Fluffymarshmallows: Indeed, the tea has just started to boil. Things are going to get really interesting really soon. *insert gif of Natasha smirking***

 **Thank you to: _yamimily, Cozygeek17, hollydoelxx, Fluffymarshmallows, pushtrak1, and abbydobbie_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! I am seriously so thankful for you guys! **

* * *

_"We torture people in the dungeon downstairs._

 _And we make a secret language_

 _that no one else knows about._

 _Oh and Steve won't admit it, but I found_

 _knitting needles in his room once."_

* * *

"Yo, Adelaide! Where's Penis Parker?" Flash shouted from across the gym. Adelaide rolled her eyes at the childish nickname, and he gave her a cocky smile in return.

"Did the itsy bitsy spiders scare him away?" Flash retorted and he and his friends bursted out in laughter while Adelaide rolled her eyes again at his terrible taunts. Did he actually think he was funny? Although, neither Flash nor Adelaide knew the true extent of the effect that the "itsy bitsy spider" had on Peter Parker.

Flash turned away, still chuckling to himself. He began dribbling the ball in his hand and passing it to his friends.

"Hey Flash!" Adelaide shouted a moment later. He turned around, raising his eyebrow. Did Adelaide actually call for him?

"There's a spider on your back!" she shouted and bit her lip as she watched his eyes grow wide in fear. He began jumping around, shaking his shirt. Adelaide laughed to herself, shaking her head and turning away from the show.

Flash had been somewhat right. Peter wasn't here today and he wouldn't even answer her texts or calls. Yesterday, as they were going home, he looked pretty pale and sickly. Adelaide wondered if he was just sick. He could have at least called of left a message. Here she was, losing her mind wondering what it must have been that caused Peter Parker to _not_ come to school. When she had asked Ned, he said he had no idea either.

 _ **Tony:**_ _Just a heads up, I'm won't be_ _around this weekend._

 _Thank goodness._

 _ **Tony:**_ _You can at least try to miss me._

 _Are you going to France again?_ ' _Good croissants' are a stupid_ _reason to fly to France._

 _ **Tony:**_ _I'm going uptown, to the compound._ _And for the record, those croissants are a perfectly_ _good reason to go to France._

 _Why are you going to the compound?_ _Didn't you just go a few weeks ago?_

 _ **Tony:**_ _I just have to pick up some work down there._

 _Can I come?_ _I haven't seen the team in a while._

 _ **Tony:**_ _Fine. But don't go DJ on me. It's my car._

 _Whatever, old man._

 _ **Tony:**_ _My songs are not old._

 _You literally have two songs from this decade._

 _ **Tony:**_ _Yeah, well the music from this decade sucks._

 _I'm going to ignore that._ _Does Pepper know you're going?_

 _ **Tony:**_ _I filled her in this morning._

 _Can you tell her I'm coming with?_

 _ **Tony:**_ _Tell her yourself._

 _It's called doing a favor._

 _ **Tony:**_ _Fine. But I get your croissant._

 _I thought we were just going upstate?_

 _ **Tony:**_ _A little detour never hurt anyone ;)._

Shaking her head, Adelaide put her phone away into her backpack. She couldn't wait to visit the compound this weekend. She hadn't seen everybody in so long. It was safe to say she missed them a little bit. Even Wanda. And Vision, though she didn't know him very well. She reckoned he was like JARVIS and she definitely missed him. Adelaide wondered how Nat had been holding up this whole time. Knowing her, she probably had the whole Bruce thing behind her. If not, she was going to avoid it until she had to confront it. And Steve. She definitely missed his corny jokes.

Sighing with a smile on her face, she looked down at the floor. She realized one of the shoelaces were untied and she bent over to tie it again. Just as she was tightening the knot, a pair of shoes appeared in front of her. Those looked familiar. She looked up, blue eyes looking into warm brown ones.

"Hi," he said. Peter grinned down at her, slightly out of breath from running to school since he had missed the bus. Even though he only lived a few blocks away, running that length usually wore him out to the point that he felt as if he was going to pass out. Today, he was just slightly out of breath. Which was definitely _very_ weird, but he didn't mind at all. In fact, he loved it.

"You look different," Adelaide said, standing up so she was somewhat at his eye level. Did he...grow taller? Adelaide stepped up onto the next bleacher so she could be taller. She wasn't used to being shorter than him.

"I'm doing good, thanks for asking," Peter retorted sarcastically. Adelaide didn't even hear him.

"Seriously, what is it? You look really different," she said, almost talking to herself. Peter cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

"Good different?" he asked.

"Did you get a new haircut?" she asked, tugging at his hair and messing it up. He frowned, shaking it back into place.

"No," he mumbled, slightly annoyed. Her eyes traveled down to his t-shirt.

"New shirt?" she asked, clutching the fabric in her hand and leaning down to smell it. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Definitely not," she said, pulling away, "Do you know how to use a washing machine?"

"I just forgot to take this shirt out of my locker last week and it's the only one I have," Peter grumbled, sniffing his shoulder. He really did stink; he'd have to remember to take this shirt home today. Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"This is your shirt?" she asked, "it's a little tight on you, Pete." Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I...I like tight shirts," he said, internally cringing at his lie. If that wasn't convincing, she'd know something was up. If she believed it, she'd probably think he was weird. Her face told him it was the latter.

"O...kay…" she said slowly, watching him strangely. Her eyes suddenly grew wide.

"Your glasses!" she gasped, "You're not wearing any glasses!" His hand instinctively flew up to push his glasses up his nose. It felt weird not wearing glasses.

"Did you get contacts?" Adelaide asked him, leaning close to see if he was wearing contacts.

"Y-Yeah," he muttered, uncomfortable under her piercing blue gaze. She frowned.

"I don't see any," she said and Peter leaned away, feeling like he was being interrogated by the FBI. "And I don't think that's it. It's something else…"

"There's nothing, Ada," he started, trying to steer the conversation away from him, "You're just overreac –"

Adelaide suddenly gasped, grabbing his arm.

"Biceps!" she said, almost shouting, "Peter Benjamin Parker, when the hell did you get biceps?! Did you just grow them overnight or something?"

He chuckled to himself. She had actually guessed right, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Peter had a feeling that he should keep this spider-bite thing to himself for a while. At least, until he figured out what was happening with him. It had been a very strange run to school this morning, if he was being honest with himself. For one, his legs didn't get tired at all – he felt like he could run all day. And even stranger, it was as if he could hear and sense _everything_. Running down the street, he could hear the hotdogs from the hotdog stand sizzling and the sound of rocks crunching underneath people's boots and the sound of someone's watch ticking or even the ladybug crawling on the side of the building. He knew some people could hear better than others, but what kind of person could hear things like that? Especially on the loud streets of New York. He still had a leftover headache from all the noise.

"Earth to Peter," Adelaide said, waving her hand in front of his face. She suddenly noticed the color of his eyes. She had always known they were brown, but she could never really see them behind his glasses. Right now, they looked like a shade of melting chocolate being mixed into coffee.

"Uh...I've been working out," Peter lied, snapping Adelaide out of her thoughts. The most workout he had done was throwing a ball against his wall and catching it – and that was while he was laying in bed. He was surprised that he hadn't gained more weight over the years.

Adelaide suddenly laughed, making him blink in confusion.

"I didn't know you could do that," she teased and he frowned.

"Shut up," he muttered, stepping to the side so that he could sit next to her. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck began tingling and in a blink, Peter whipped around and caught the basketball that was coming straight for Adelaide's head. He hadn't realized that he actually caught it until he looked down in his hands. Did...Did _he_ do that?

He caught Adelaide's wide-eyed blue gaze. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. That was inhumanely fast. Even her reflexes weren't that fast and she had tested them herself. Peter watched her carefully, waiting for her to say something, anything. Adelaide blinked, shaking her head clear.

"Hey Parker!" yelled Flash, "Quit hogging the basketball!"

Slowly, Peter turned around, his back to Adelaide and his mouth set into a thin line.

"Watch where you throw it next time," he growled quietly. Peter had no idea where this sudden confidence was coming from, but he was enjoying it.

"I can throw it wherever I fucking want," Flash said, his voice spiked with anger. He didn't like it when people talked back to him or told him what to do. Especially not when it was Penis Parker. Peter's jaw tightened.

"So can I," Peter said and then he threw the ball back at lightning speed, hitting him in the chest so hard that he stumbled back a few steps, almost losing his balance. Flash glared at him, his face turning red.

"You better watch your back, Parker," Flash said, looking suspicious. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Watch yours first," he said and then turned away, back to Adelaide who felt _very_ confused.

"How...How did you do that?" she asked him.

"Do what? I just caught the ball," Peter said, trying to play it off as nothing.

"No, what you did was something... _weird_ ," she said, struggling to put it into words.

"I just caught the ball, Ada. Same as you would have," he said simply.

"But –"

"You made it!" came Ned's voice who was finally back from the bathroom, "What took you so long?"

"I missed the bus," Peter said, relieved for the distraction. He grinned at his friend.

"Wait a second…" Ned suddenly said, furrowing his eyebrows, "No way! You have muscles!" He grabbed Peter's arm and then dropped it just to punch it. "And they're real, too! Awesome, dude!"

They began doing a weird handshake while Adelaide was still sitting in between the two of them and she rolled her eyes, leaning back so she wouldn't get hit.

"Everybody get down here!" Coach Graves shouted, blowing his whistle. Adelaide held back a groan. She couldn't wait for the day she would never have to see him again. Just looking at him made her head hurt.

They all stood up and began making their way down the bleachers. Once a fresh headache started to make a debut behind her eyes, Adelaide had completely forgotten about the strange thing that Peter had done. She told herself that she was probably just overthinking the whole situation.

* * *

Hardly anyone was ever in the alley behind school.

Only the smokers and druggies went back there. Sometimes, they'd get caught, but most of the time they got away unscathed. The alley itself reeked of cigarettes and pot and maybe even a little sewage. The druggies usually didn't mind, but the rotten smell made Graves even angrier as he stood there. It was disgusting in here and he had seen his fair share of disgusting. The smell made him want to light a cigarette from his pocket, but he knew that if he went back into the building, smelling like a carton of Marlboro Red, he'd lose his position as head coach. Then Lukov would kill him and then he'd never be able to smoke again.

Feeling the urge to break something, Graves dialed Lukov from his phone. One of these days, Lukov was going to regret treating him like trash. He just had to wait for his time.

" _Make it quick,"_ Lukov growled, clearly not in a good mood.

"How much longer?" he asked, getting straight to the point. He heard Lukov clear his throat. Graves could hear people talking in the back and then the sound of a door closing. An engine started up.

" _Kakiye?"_

"How much longer do I have sit in this hellhole?" Graves growled. His voice was hard as ice. He was sick of pretending to be a high school teacher. It was degrading and embarrassing. He was so much more than that.

" _Until I fucking say so."_

"I'm fed up with this shit. Nothing's happening. Rivers isn't get any closer to the mission. I say we just do it now. Everything's already in place."

" _You will not do anything until I command you to. I will tell you when it is the right time and until then, just do your damn job. I am not paying you a 100 grand for this load of bullshit. I can just as easily find someone else to do the job."_

Graves laughed, creating a small echo in the alley.

"Face it, Lukov. No one knows her better than me, not even you."

" _That is debatable,"_ Lukov said, not bothered by the remark, " _Just a few more months, Graves. Good things come to those who wait."_

"When the hell did you start reading poetry?"

" _I interest myself in a book every now and then,"_ the Russian remarked, " _Would you be satisfied if I raised it to 200 grand?"_

"Would you?"

" _I'm asking you."_

"I would."

" _Then do better,"_ Lukov said, promptly ending the call right afterwards. Graves laughed to himself, not one bit amused.

"Lukov, you son of a bitch," he muttered to himself, slipping his phone into his pocket.

The ringing bell indicated that lunch break was over and Graves quietly groaned to himself. It was almost laughable to see how far he had dropped. He was a fucking high school coach – for a man like Graves, it didn't get more embarrassing than that.

Just as he was about to turn the corner, a couple of kids who were barely tall enough to be call high schoolers walked into the alley. Upon noticing the man with the eyepatch, they both froze, the pot still in their hands. Graves smirked, walking towards them. The two took back a step in fear of getting caught.

Instead, Graves grabbed the pot from their hands and went on his way. He was going to need more of that if he was getting through this without killing anybody else.

* * *

"It's pronounced _Nu_ -tella," Adelaide argued.

Peter was already shaking his head.

"No, it's _Nut_ -tella. _Nut_ -tella," he said. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"It literally says _Nu_ -tella on their website," she said, slightly annoyed. She stabbed her fork into the lettuce a little harder than she should've.

"How do you pronounce it, Ned?" Peter asked, turning to their friend who was dutifully avoiding the conversation entirely. He didn't want to get caught up in their argument. Adelaide and Peter both watched him expectantly.

"I...I don't know what that is," he lied. The other two seemed to buy it. "I've never had Nutella in my life."

"Ah-hah!" Adelaide suddenly said pointing at him, "He said _Nu_ -tella!"

"Shoot," Ned muttered under his breath and Peter rolled his eyes.

"You both are wrong," he said. Adelaide smirked.

"You're all losers," Michelle suddenly said without looking up from her book. They weren't surprised. She was always a part of their crazy conversations even if she didn't say anything — she was always listening.

"You just hate to admit that I'm right," Adelaide told Peter, ignoraning Michelle's insult. Peter's expression indicated that she was right and she chuckled, poking her fork at her lettuce with much less anger than before.

"So I heard there's Star Wars special marathon on tonight," Ned said, changing the subject quickly, "We can all have a sleepover and watch it."

"I'm down," Adelaide said, chewing her salad, "As long as I don't have to watch it with you guys."

"Come on!" Ned protested, "Just give it a chance."

"No, thank you. I'd rather watch Tom Cruise break a drug deal or something," she replied and Ned rolled his eyes, looking disappointed. Ned turned to Peter, who had been quiet this whole time.

"Tell her how cool Star Wars is," Ned said, "We have to watch the marathon today."

"Losers," Michelle said again and everyone ignored her again.

"Actually," Peter started, "I don't think I'll be able to watch it today."

Ned was appalled.

"What?! Peter, you did hear me correctly, right? I said Star Wars marathon. _Star Wars_ ," he said annunciating it.

"Yes, I heard you, but I really can't make it. You and Ada can watch it," he said. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him. Was Peter Parker actually turning down a _Star Wars marathon_? He loved Star Wars. A little more than a normal person, in her opinion. Something was definitely up.

"But why not?" Ned asked.

"I've got...Chemistry homework. Loads of it." Adelaide raised a scrutinizing eyebrow.

"Peter, I have Chemistry with you. Mr. Danson hasn't assigned homework for weeks now."

Peter looked as if he had just remembered that and Adelaide watched him carefully. Did he not want to hang out with her and Ned or something?

"Did I say Chemistry?" he said, chuckling lightly, "Sorry, I meant, uh...Algebra. Yeah, lots of Algebra. But you two can have fun, I'm okay with it. Don't let me hold you back."

Adelaide narrowed her eyes, wondering why he didn't want to come. They were almost at Christmas break. None of the teachers gave too much homework. Sure, there were people like Mr. Hans who just loved giving homework, but it was the holidays. Peter was just making an excuse not to come. She searched her brain, wondering what it could be.

"But it won't be as fun without you," Ned said. Peter shrugged.

"Hey, you two can have fun without me," he said.

"Are you sure, Pete?" Adelaide asked him. Peter tried to fight back a smile. This afternoon, he was going to find out more about what was going on with him and he had a feeling he wasn't going to be disappointed. He wouldn't be able to rest until he found out more so Star Wars could wait.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he answered, grabbing his juice box, "You guys have fun. I'll be fine."

"Fine," Ned muttered, not entirely convinced.

Peter lifted his juice box to his lips, taking a sip. When he went to put it down, he found that the box was stuck to the palm of his hand. He quietly groaned. This had been happening to him all morning; things kept sticking to his hands and it would almost be impossible to shake them off. That was...normal, right? Peter picked at the edges, trying to pull it off, but it was on tight. He sighed. There was only one way to get it off now. He shook his hand, trying to shake the juice box off.

Suddenly, when he was least expecting it, the juice box flew out of his hand and over to the next table where it landed on Flash Thompson's head. Peter's eyes grew wide.

 _Uh-oh_ …

Adelaide watched the scene unfold with big eyes and her mouth slightly open. Did Peter just…?

Flash froze. The entire cafeteria fell silent.

Slowly, Flash turned around. He looked _angry_. His eyes scanned the room and until they landed on Peter who seemed to be in some kind of shock. Had he just…?

" _What the hell_ , Parker?" Flash growled angrily. Peter struggled to find words, still in a state of shock.

"Say sorry, say sorry, just say it already," Ned whispered under his breath. Peter suddenly grew annoyed. Why did Flash always have to treat him like he was under him or something? Why did he always have to apologize? He was smarter than Flash. And, since this morning apparently, probably stronger too.

"Orange juice," Peter answered. Adelaide thought she was hearing things. Had Peter actually lost it or had she?

"You think you're so smart, don't you? You little smartass," Flash growled, walking towards him. The entire cafeteria was watching. Where do all the teachers disappear to when there's a fight?

"Can't say the same for you," Peter said, standing up. What had gotten into him? Whatever it was, Peter was definitely enjoying it. Adelaide, on the other hand, was already looking for a nurse.

" _Peter_ ," Adelaide warned under her breath but either he was ignoring her or he didn't hear. Either way, he was so screwed. Once Flash was close enough, Adelaide realized that Peter looked a couple inches taller than Flash. Huh. Hadn't he always been a couple inches shorter?

"Come on," Flash said, getting into position to fight. Peter felt slightly excited. He was confident that he could beat Flash this time and humiliate _him_ for a change. Adelaide, on the other hand, had thought that Peter Parker had truly and completely lost his freaking mind. He had slipped away. There was no way to stop this now. She was going to have to watch him get beat up. Peter had dug his own grave.

Ned caught her eye across the table and Adelaide just shook her head, disappointed. What had brought this out of him? Peter wasn't normally like this — he wasn't being himself. But why?

They began fighting. A crowd had already formed around the two teenagers and people began cheering. Seriously, where were all of the teachers? Adelaide watched anxiously, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Flash swung his fist at Peter's nose and he dodged it easily. Adelaide winced and grabbed Ned's shoulder.

"You think he's gonna be fine?" she asked. He shrugged.

"He's never gotten out of a fight and actually won before," Ned said. Adelaide let out a breath.

Peter glanced at her and then her hand on Ned's shoulder. She glanced down at her hand. Everything came crashing to an understanding. Flash took another swing at Peter who just barely avoided it, having been distracted by his friends.

Adelaide realized that he was acting out like this because was still hung over the idea that she was secretly dating Ned behind his back which was far from the truth. It was the only thing that made sense. Of course, she couldn't tell him that the reason they couldn't tell him what they were doing was because they were hacking in HYDRA's database to find information on her parents, former SHIELD agents. That conversation wouldn't go so well.

She groaned to herself. But what Adelaide couldn't understand was why he was still hung over it even after she had clearly explained to him that there was nothing. Maybe he just didn't believe her. Adelaide just wasn't ready to tell him the whole truth yet. Sure, they were good friends, but what if he didn't want to continue to be her friend after he found out about how weird her life was? How weird she was?

The crowd cheered louder as Flash took a swing at Peter.

"Help him, Adelaide," Ned urged. Adelaide watched the fight, her eyes bouncing side to side as they both took swings at each other.

"Which one?" she asked.

Adelaide wanted to stop the fight, but she had a feeling it wouldn't work. They were clearly very angry at each other.

Suddenly, Peter pulled his fist back and then punched Flash Thompson in the face, feeling immensely satisfied. Flash stumbled back, his hands flying up to cover his face. Peter had punched him in the jaw and Flash could already feel a bruise coming. He glared at Peter who was proudly smirking.

Adelaide found herself feeling slightly angry. This wasn't Peter. Not the one she knew. Peter noticed the look on her face and frowned. She should be happy for him. He had just won.

"Hey! Hey, move it kid!" Graves said, pushing aside a kid in his way. He made his way to the center of the crowd, looking at Adelaide. She stared back without an expression until he looked away. He analyzed the situation in front of him and, after putting two and two together, he realized that it was just a fight. Graves groaned internally. He hadn't had enough cigarettes today for this shit. Why couldn't this lanky kids just keep their hands off of each other?

"Who started this mess?" Graves sighed, running his hand over his buzz cut. He definitely wasn't getting paid enough for this.

"He did," Flash and Peter both said at the same time. Graves eyes the bruise forming on the shorter kid's face and the knuckles of the taller one. At least he could have tried to hide his hand. He rolled his eyes.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Peter," he answered.

"Come with me, kid," Graves said and then pushed his way out of the crowd, not-so-accidentally stepping on some toes. Stupid teenagers. Can't even sit still for a damn lunch. Next time he called Lukov, he was asking for a pay raise. He needed more alcohol to deal with this shit everyday.

The crowd was still formed around the two boys and while Flash was putting ice on his bruise and glaring at Peter, Peter looked at Adelaide. He wanted her to be happy for him. Why did it bother him so much?

"Ada —"

She just shook her head disappointedly and turned around and left the cafeteria, leaving Peter feeling terrible about his win.

* * *

Adelaide felt terrible.

Peter was her best friend. She should just tell him the truth. She sighed, chewing the inside of her cheek. Maybe she should try to tell him again that she wasn't secretly dating Ned behind his back. She sighed again, frustratedly running her hands through her hair. She pulled it back into a ponytail with a hair tie on her wrist to get it out of her face. If he didn't believe her the first time, what were the chances he'd believe her when she told him the same thing again? But how else could she convince him?

Maybe there was a way. Maybe she could convince him by making more plans to hang out, all three of them. Adelaide considered it. That actually wasn't such a terrible idea. Once they would hang out together enough, Peter would realize that she didn't treat Ned any differently than she treated him. Now all she had to do was convince him to hang out…

"What's the pickle, kid?" Tony asked, his eyes still on the road.

"It's 2015, and you need to find some better slang," she said, turning in her seat to face him.

"Spill the beans," he said, side-smirking at her.

"I don't have any," she said, reaching for the music button. He smacked her hand away.

"You promised you wouldn't boss my music system around," he said, "I don't think I am physically capable of hearing another Katy Petty song."

"It's Perry," Adelaide replied, rolling her eyes, "And you promised me a croissant from France but here we are."

"No, if I remember correctly, which I do, I promised _I'd_ eat _your_ croissant from France. Pay attention," he said, tapping her forehead. She pulled away, reaching for the music button again and Tony didn't stop her this time. She played some 80's throwback music which mostly consisted of Duran Duran and Oingo Boingo, approved artists by Tony, of course. She even threw in some AC/DC per Tony's request, obviously.

The sun was starting to set by the time they made it to the compound and it was much quieter now, especially during the wintertime. At the moment, there were probably very few SHIELD agents and mostly the Avengers living there.

They got out of the car, closing the doors behind themselves. Today, Tony had picked the Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita out of his garage, maybe just to show off the ridiculous amount of money that he spends on cars. Sometimes, Adelaide forgot how rich Tony really was. Or that, to the rest of the world, he was genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark. To her, he was just annoying Tony. And even though they were constantly bantering, Adelaide liked what she had with Tony. In her mind, he wasn't too far from a fatherly figure in her life. Though she'd never say it out loud, of course. What if he didn't feel the same way?

"Ready, kiddo?" he said, twisting the car keys around in his hand. She nodded.

"Yeah, let's go," she said, grabbing her duffel bag of clothes that she had packed for the weekend. Tony pressed a button on his car keys and the car began rolling itself into the garage as they made their way inside the compound through the big glass doors, walking into the lobby.

Instantly they were greeted by Rhodey who pulled them both into a big group hug. He had apparently been waiting in the lobby.

"Missed you, too buddy but not...this...much," Tony said, his voice sounding slightly strangled. Rhodey chuckled, pulling away.

"I didn't know you were coming, Adelaide," he said, smiling down at her warmly. She grinned, shrugging.

"It was last minute," she said.

"Well, I'm glad you came," he said.

"Yeah we need some immaturity around here," Tony said, looking around the room. Adelaide picked up her duffel bag off the floor.

"I think you have enough of that for everyone," she teased. He looked at her, offended.

"I can be mature," he argued. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Name one time."

"Well, there was that one time I _maturely_ made an ice cream sundae for you and Pepper without using the whip cream to look like Santa," he pointed out. Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"You used the ice cream spoons to make walrus tusks from your mouth," she said.

"Oh yeah," he said, remembering. He began laughing, shaking his head. "You have to admit, that was pretty funny."

Rhodey chuckled, shaking his head.

"You guys are really something else," he said, "Come on, I'll take you to the others. We just finished our training for the day."

They followed Rhodey down the halls, still bickering over absolutely nothing important. Adelaide was enjoying it.

This was the most at ease that she had felt in a long time and she never wanted to leave.

They walked into a big lounge with a small kitchen tucked away in the corner and a huge tv hooked up on the wall surrounded by expensive white leather couches and accompanied with a lavish yet simple blood red rug on the hardwood floor. Along the other side of the same wall were wall-sized windows which were covered at the moment since it was already dark outside.

Steve was by the pool table with Sam on the side of the room while Natasha was in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee or a margarita. Probably both.

"Hey guys, look who decided to come!" Rhodey announced, making all three of them turn around. Steve smiled, putting down his pool table stick and walked towards them.

"Stark," he addressed.

"Captain," Tony replied with a slight nod, "I see you still suck at pool."

Steve chuckled, shaking his head.

"You and I. Tomorrow. Winner gets to gloat his butt off," Steve said and Tony shook his hand, sealing the deal. Adelaide rolled her eyes. And everyone thought she was the immature one.

"I didn't know you were coming, Adelaide," Steve said.

"Is Tony kicking you out of the Tower?" Natasha asked, walking up to them with a margarita in her hand.

"You wish," Adelaide replied, a smile on her face. Natasha smirked.

"What did you come up here for?" Steve asked, heading into the kitchen to grab a margarita for himself. He returned with an extra one and handed it to Tony.

"Just some paperwork that I left here from last time. Pepper said she needed it for the company's next board meeting or something," Tony said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I'm gonna hit the hay, you guys," Rhodey said, making all of them turn around, "Gotta meet up with the general tomorrow at the crack of dawn."

"Okay, old man," Tony said, patting his back. Rhodey didn't even acknowledge the insult and headed to his room. Either he was used to it, or he was really tired.

"You're here for the whole weekend?" Natasha asked, leading them all the couch where they sat down. Adelaide noticed Sam filling his own glass or margarita in the kitchen. She knew she wasn't 21, but she wanted some too.

"Until tomorrow afternoon," Adelaide answered, "I've got school the next day."

"Right," Natasha smirked, "I forgot you're still 13."

Adelaide frowned.

"14."

"Like it makes a difference," she said and Adelaide shook her head, though there was a small smile on her face. Natasha seemed to be doing alright. Her insults definitely hadn't taken a hit.

"So what's new with you guys?" Adelaide asked, subtly eyeing Tony's margarita. Pepper would disapprove.

"We haven't had any more AIs try to wipe the human population so I'd say it's been pretty good around here," Steve said. Adelaide smirked.

"The rookies are getting better, which is always good," Natasha said, leaning back into her seat.

"We've got a pretty great team," Sam agreed, nodding.

"Speaking of," Tony said, "Where's that witch girl? And Vision?"

"They're out training still. The two train at night and then they're out during the day. Well, Wanda is. Vision doesn't sleep. Or use doors," Steve answered with a slight shake of his head. Adelaide hadn't met Wanda in a while. In fact, the last time she had seen her was when the compound had just finished being built.

"What do you do for fun around here?" Adelaide asked, eyeing the tv.

"We torture people in the dungeon downstairs. And we make a secret language that no one else knows about. Oh and Steve won't admit it, but I found knitting needles in his room once," Natasha said, side-smirking at Steve. Steve tossed his hands up in the air in defeat.

"For the last time, I don't have knitting needles," he groaned playfully.

"I'm worried that this a 'Two Truths, One Lie' game," Tony said, "I'm gonna say the secret language was the lie."

So the night went on just like that, with a little light bantering and teasing until it was very late in the night and very early in the morning. Adelaide was given a guest room upstairs where she crashed for the night, her head slightly spinning from the few sips of margarita that she had from Tony's glass when he wasn't looking.

She hadn't slept so peacefully in ages.

* * *

The next day began with a mixture of confusion and panic until she remembered where she was.

Adelaide groaned, rubbing her face. She looked around the room for a clock and found a digital one on the other side of the wall.

 _12:05_

Had it really been that long since she'd fallen asleep? It actually felt like 2 minutes. Groaning, she got out of the bed, heading towards the bathroom. Somehow, her duffel bag had appeared in her room and she took out a new pair of clothes, taking them with her.

After cleaning herself up, Adelaide stepped out of the bathroom. Grabbing her phone off the nightstand, she headed downstairs to the kitchen. She realized she hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before and she was starving. Adelaide wondered if the kitchen here had Cheerios. Padding into the kitchen, she began searching the cabinets for a box of Cheerios.

"I don't even get a hello?" said a voice. Adelaide jumped at the sound, turning towards the voice. It was none other than Wanda Maximoff, sitting on the kitchen island. Adelaide laughed, shaking her head and closing the cabinet.

"I didn't see you sitting there," she said, a huge grin on her face.

"I've gotten better at staying hidden. Natasha's taught me," she said, a smile growing on her face.

"Well," Adelaide said, leaning against the island countertop across from the witch, "no one's better than me at staying hidden."

"We'll see," she said, smirking.

"How's training going?" Adelaide asked, stepping back and pulling out orange juice from the fridge. She'd have to make do with that for now.

"As good as training a witch can go," she said and Adelaide smirked.

"I'm not surprised." Wanda said smiled.

"So what have you been up to? Besides school. How is that going, by the way?"

"Как ад." _(Like hell.)_

"Any side projects?" Wanda asked, pouring some orange juice into a tall glass for herself.

"No," Adelaide lied, sipping her juice innocently, "Not really."

Wanda watched the teenager with a smile on her face as she put the cap back onto the juice bottle.

"You know better than to lie to me, Adelaide," Wanda said. Adelaide looked at her and then looked away quickly.

"It's nothing," she said, standing up with her glass in hand.

"I can keep a secret pretty well," Wanda said, eyeing the teenager. Adelaide rolled her eyes. She wanted to get off of this topic.

"Good for you. I'm still not telling," she said stubbornly.

Suddenly, her phone rang, interrupting the conversation. It was Ned. Her heart began racing. She hadn't talked to him about the files since Friday when he told her that he was nowhere. Had he decrypted the files? She glanced at Wanda who was pretending that she hadn't heard the phone ringing and then Adelaide decided to take the call in her room, just to be safe. She left her juice on the countertop and ran upstairs.

"Hello?" she said, closing the door behind herself, slightly out of breath.

" _Hey Adelaide, listen —"_

"Did you decrypt the files?" she asked urgently.

" _Um, no,"_ he said and she deflated, " _I actually have some bad news."_

Adelaide closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. This was proving to test her patience with HYDRA. Not that she had much to begin with anyway. She leaned her head against the door.

"What is it?" she sighed.

" _I made another attempt and it failed...so now we only have one left,"_ he said. Adelaide slid down the door, putting her head into her hands. She rubbed her face, trying not to groan. This wasn't Ned's fault. It was HYDRA's.

"What do we do now?" she asked quietly after a while.

" _We still get one more shot,"_ Ned said encouragingly.

"But what happens if that fails to? HYDRA will get an alert. Ned, our plan isn't safe or foolproof. We don't even _have_ a plan."

" _You want to find out what happened to your parents, right?"_

"I don't want anyone to die for that. We can find another way," she argued, suddenly feeling very tired, despite having gotten enough sleep.

" _Adelaide—"_

"Please, Ned," she cut him off. He was silent for a moment and Adelaide waited for his answer, staring at the clock ticking on the wall.

" _If that's what you really want,"_ Ned said finally. Adelaide let out a breath, closing her eyes.

"Thank you," she said and ended the call, dropping the phone into her lap.

For a minute, she simply sat there, staring at the rug and feeling absolutely hopeless. There was nothing she could do. If HYDRA was too dangerous, how else was she going to find out what happened to her parents? What happened to her? What if she never found out?

What was she supposed to do now?

She sighed frustratedly and pushed herself off the floor. She began pacing the room unconsciously, running her hands through her hair over and over. The memory of her parents began flashing in her mind again. Someone had killed them in front of her young eyes. They needed her to avenge them. They wanted to protect her from _him_. What did all of it mean? Who was that man and what did he want? Where had she been for 13 years of her life?

"Adelaide!" Wanda shouted from the kitchen, pulling her from her thoughts. Adelaide glanced at the clock. It was time for her to go back home and Tony was probably waiting outside. On cue, her phone buzzed.

 **Tony** : It's time to go, I'm in the car outside.

Biting her lip in frustration, Adelaide grabbed her duffel bag and headed downstairs, her footsteps louder than when she had gone up.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she realized that Vision had stolen her seat at the island.

"Hey, Vision," she greeted, dropping her bag at the foot of the island.

"Hi, Adelaide. How have you been?" he said. She let out a breath, glancing at Wanda.

"I've been better," she answered, grabbing her unfinished juice glass off the countertop. Vision and Wanda glanced at each other knowingly and Adelaide tilted her head to the side curiously. Why did they look like they knew something she didn't? Eyeing them carefully, she finished the last of her juice and then put the cup in the sink.

"Tony's waiting for you outside," Vision said, a subtle smile on his face.

"Yeah," Adelaide said, now totally convinced that there was something going on, "I know."

"Adelaide?" Wanda said, as Adelaide was picking up her duffel bag. The teenager looked up, meeting her eyes.

"You know, you can trust me," Wanda said honestly, referring to their earlier conversation. Adelaide searched her face for any sign of what she meant by that and just as she was about to ask, her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked away.

 **Tony** : I'm not getting any younger, kid.

"It was nice to see you again, Adelaide," Vision said, nodding. Trying to collect her scattered thoughts, she managed a nod. She glanced at the witch again who wasn't smirking anymore and hitched her duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Bye, Wanda," she said and headed towards the doors.

"Bye, Adelaide." Something in her voice told Adelaide that Wanda knew something. With a shake of her head, Adelaide pushed open the glass doors and stepped outside where she spotted a bright orange car on the dirt road and a billionaire waiting impatiently inside.

Adelaide headed towards the car and when Tony noticed her, he opened up the trunk and she threw her bag inside before getting inside the car.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded and Tony pulled the car away, heading onto the main road. Adelaide leaned her head back and looked out the window. She wasn't sure what to think about. HYDRA or Wanda? There was nothing she could do about either situation. She sighed, looking at her lap and staring at the dark screen on her phone that was reflecting the bare trees on the side of the road as they drove by them.

Now that HYDRA was off the table, she had to find another way to get information about her parents and her past. But she knew HYDRA was hiding something — they had files on her parents. Should she ask Ned to keep trying? No, she couldn't put his life on the line. It would be unfair. Maybe she could ask Tony?

She glanced at him. He could probably do it. But should she let him? This was HYDRA. It was SHIELD level work, even if he could do it. Things could get messy, on a bigger scale.

Suddenly, her phone came to life.

She picked it up, curiously running her eyes over the email notification. It was an email from an unknown contact. Furrowing her eyebrows, she opened it. Immediately, her screen went white for a couple of seconds until a small message popped up.

 _Do you accept this message?_

She tapped the _yes_ button, holding her breath. Her phone had never behaved like this before. What was going on? It opened up a completely blank email and she scrolled to the bottom, where there was a single sentence.

 _Show this to your friend, he'll know what to do._

– _V_

Adelaide tried to open the encrypted file that was attached, but it was just a bunch of symbols and numbers that she couldn't make any sense of. With a sigh, she dropped her phone into her lap and leaned her head back. Tony glanced at the teenager.

"You okay?"

Adelaide felt a small smile coming on her face as she realized what Wanda had meant when she said that she could trust her. Vision had overheard her conversation with Ned. Now she and Ned would be able to decrypt the files and see what was inside.

"Yeah," she said, smiling, "I'm fine."

* * *

 **A/N: DunDunDun. Now they know. Do you think that Vision's email will actually help them decrypt the HYDRA files? We'll see...**

 _ **Question: What are you guys dressing up as for Halloween this year?**_

 **I'm dressing up as Scarlet Witch and I am so hype for that because a little secret about me is that I've never had a Halloween costume before and this one is going to be perfection. I made the necklaces all by myself and I couldn't get a wig, but other than that, the costume looks SUPER BADASS.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I know this is a little late but this chapter is kind important to Adie's past and I had to do some research and plotting before I published it just to be sure that the plot would line up in the future when I zoom in on her past. A fair enough excuse, I hope. This author's note is gonna be super short because it's literally 12:30 and I have to be up in like 4 1/2 hours so RIP me lmao.**

 **Thank you to: _Guest, Kamikax,_ and _tomfoolowl_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! I know my updating times haven't been the best lately, but I really appreciate you guys sticking around for this story!**

* * *

 _"How much can_

 _Captain America_

 _really lift?"_

* * *

Adelaide was nervously twisting her hands together as she was waiting in the hallway before school started.

Last week, she hadn't exactly left on good terms with Peter. If anything, he probably thought that she was angry at him. All weekend long, she had thought about ways she could make plans for the three of them to hang out together. She had to figure this out – Peter was her best friend.

At the same time, Adelaide was equally anxious about talking to Ned. She had the urge to send him the email or even tell him over the phone, but she knew better than that. It would be safe if she told him in person, but not here, in school. Adelaide had tried messing with the email herself on her laptop, but nothing happened and she eventually gave up, having gotten sick of the shrill beep it made whenever she clicked anywhere on the screen. Computers were definitely not her cup of tea. She was going to leave it all up to Ned and hope he would know what to do with it. Vision had definitely thought he would, even if it was based off of an eavesdropping of her phone call with Ned.

"Adelaide?" Ned asked, suddenly appearing in front of her. She looked around to see if Peter was anywhere close by. Assured that no one was listening to their conversation, she leaned closer so that only Ned could hear her.

"Listen," she said, dropping her voice to a whisper, "I have to tell you something."

Ned furrowed his eyebrows.

"What happened?" Adelaide looked around again as a safety measure before turning back to Ned.

"Come to the Tower at 5:00 today. I found a way to decrypt you-know-what."

Ned's eyes grew wide.

"No way! But you – how?! You're not even –"

" _Shh!_ " she said, looking around to see if anyone had heard.

"Yell louder, will you?" she whispered.

"Oh," he said sheepishly, realizing, "Sorry."

"So can you come? It's urgent," she said. Ned opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by someone else.

"Hey Ned," Peter greeted, walking up to them. Adelaide straightened up, clearing her throat.

"H-Hey Peter," Ned said, trying to regain his composure while understand the information that Adelaide had just dumped on him.

"Hey," Adelaide offered with a small smile.

Peter was slightly taken aback. Wasn't she mad at him last Friday? After his fight with Flash (which did not end well for Peter), Adelaide had walked away in anger and hadn't even called to ask if he been okay after he had been taken into the counselor's office.

The school counselor, Mr. Perry, had had a very, _very_ long talk with Peter and they came to a conclusion that he would be given detention for two days. When Uncle Ben and Aunt May had found out the next morning via a call from Mr. Perry himself, they had gone berserk. Their sweet, innocent little nephew Peter had gotten into a fight? It must be the end of the world. Luckily, Peter had been able to calm them down and convince them that he was fine. Although, he couldn't say the same about Flash but he didn't dare relay that to them and he had managed to get away with only a week of grounding. In all honesty, that hadn't stopped him from sneaking out of his window after they were asleep to test out the cool things that had been happening to him.

After almost falling down a 3 story building, Peter had learned that he could stick to things with his hands and feet. It was a strange feeling. Speaking of, his hairs on the back of his neck would rise up everytime he was about to be in danger whether it was just a ball coming at him or a mugger sneaking up on him while Peter was between buildings. He had started to call it his 'spidey sense.' Peter had even developed a sturdy sort of web...thing. He created these little boxes that he could easily wrap around his wrist and filled them with the web that he made. He called them 'web shooters' because whenever he held his arm out, webs would shoot out from them and allow him to swing just about anywhere. It was exhilarating. Since then, Peter had gone out every night after Ben and May were asleep, discovering more about his new abilities.

"Hey," Peter replied, looping his thumbs under his backpack straps. He smiled back.

"How did it go with Coach Graves after...you know," Ned asked curiously. Peter shrugged, looking away from Ada.

"I have detention today and tomorrow and I'm grounded for a week." Ned's eyes grew wide.

"Graves can ground you?!" he asked in surprise. Adelaide rolled her eyes, lightly hitting his head.

"He's talking about Ben and May, you idiot," she said. Ned grinned sheepishly.

"Right," he said, "I knew that."

"So I guess you can't really go anywhere this week?" Adelaide asked, feeling all of her plans to hang out going down the drain.

"Well, not until Thursday," he said. Adelaide lit up.

"Great!" she said, "We can hang out on Thursday."

Peter searched her face, confused. Was there...Had he been imagining things or did Ada look too excited to hang out?

"I...I actually meant Friday. Or this weekend," he lied. Peter didn't have time to watch movies or hang out. He had to practice using his new abilities and his web shooters still needed perfecting. Adelaide's face fell.

"Oh," she said, "Next week, then?"

Peter watched her for a moment.

"Um, sure," he said. He'd deal with next week later. For now, this was good enough.

Before the conversation could continue any more, the morning bell rang, signaling that they had 2 minutes to get to class.

* * *

Adelaide closed the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment with her hand still on the doorknob. Her palms were starting to sweat and she realized she was slightly out of breath. Pepper and Tony weren't home yet and they only had about 30 minutes before they came back. So they would have to make this quick.

"I still don't understand," said Ned, "Don't take it personally, but, Adelaide, you're _terrible_ with computers. How did you find a way to decrypt the files? Last time we talked about this, you said we should stop trying."

Adelaide shook her head, taking a seat in the chair. She turned her phone on, finding the email and opening it up for Ned to see. She handed her phone to him.

"I didn't," she said, "Vision did."

Ned's eyes grew wide. _The_ Vision? As in the android?

"Holy crap, Adelaide! Vision sent you this email? When? _How?_ " he asked in disbelief.

"I visited the compound this weekend with Tony and ran into him there," she explained.

"Woah...where can I get superpowers like yours and join the Avengers?" he asked dreamily, "Just imagine shaking hands with Captain America and seeing the mighty Thor with his hammer…"

"If I knew where my superpowers were from, I wouldn't be trying to decrypt these stupid HYDRA files," she mumbled, "So do you think you can do it?"

Ned snapped out of his quasi-trance, looking through the email again.

"It'll take a couple of minutes, but I think I can," he said. Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief. Vision had been right. Whatever that was in that file, Ned knew how to access it to decrypt the files. In a few minutes, she might actually be able to see what was inside the files this time. It was Vision's algorithm, it had to work.

Ned flipped open his laptop and booted up some kind of coding software. He hooked the phone up to the laptop and typed something. A few seconds later, the computer began processing something. There was a green bar and at the end was the loading percentage written.

 _34%...36%...37%..._

"Can I ask you a question?" Ned said, looking at her. Adelaide side-glanced at him, but continued to stare at the percentage, hoping that would make it go faster.

"What?"

"How much can Captain America really lift?" he asked and Adelaide gave him a pointed look in response.

"It's a valid question!" he argued. Adelaide sighed.

"I don't know," she said, "A house, maybe? I don't know the exact pounds."

"Can Thor really make lightning come out of his hands?" he asked. Adelaide glanced at the screen.

 _50%_

"I think? He just prefers to use his hammer," she said, shrugging.

"Wow," Ned said in awe.

Adelaide actually knew these people. She knew the Avengers. Why was this just now hitting him? Maybe it was because the initial shock of one of his best friend having a superpower was finally settling down. He didn't really care; he was just happy to be a part of this.

"Can–"

" _Ned_ ," Adelaide warned.

"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly.

They both silently watched the screen as the percentage changed one by one. It was agonizing. Adelaide wondered if the clock in the room had actually began to tick slower. Maybe it was just her. The two teenagers awkwardly sat in silence, twiddling their thumbs while waiting for the computer to finish its job. Adelaide glanced at Ned who looked like he had swallowed a ribbiting frog. She rolled her eyes, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Okay, spit it out," she said finally and Ned let out the breath that he had been holding.

"Can Vision really walk through walls?" he asked.

"Yeah," Adelaide groaned, "It's a bit annoying, really. But he's still adjusting to his human form."

"Wow," Ned said suddenly, "He can actually _walk through walls_. How cool is that?"

"Cooler than controlling light?" she asked, smirking. Adelaide glanced at the screen.

 _75%_

"No way," Ned said, "I would so much rather control light! Can you imagine how many make-believe video games I could play with that?"

"Of course that's what you would use it for," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I would try to save the world and stuff too. You know, become famous," he said.

 _85%_

"Maybe you could be the guy who's an expert at hacking stuff," she joked.

"They'd call me the Hacker," he said.

 _90%_

"Or Virus," she suggested.

"Pixel," he said.

"Nice to meet you, Pixel," she said, holding her hand out for him to shake.

"Likewise," he said in a fake-deep voice and the both began laughing, trying to shake off the nervous energy. Sure, their jokes weren't as funny, but it felt relieving to shake the nerves with laughter. If this didn't work, Adelaide didn't even want to think about what would happen — what HYDRA would do.

 _95%_

Adelaide was starting to get even more nervous. She wanted to know what was in those files so desperately, but she also knew that oblivion was safer. What if she didn't like what was in those files?

 _97%_

"Hey, I just want to say thank you for doing this for me," Adelaide said honestly, "You have no idea what it means."

 _98%_

"Are you kidding! I love doing this! This is like super-cool spy stuff," he said. Adelaide grinned.

"It is pretty cool," she admitted.

 _99%_

"Are you ready?" Ned asked.

Adelaide took a deep breath, shaking out her nerves for the last time. This was it. She was finally going to see what was inside those files. About her parents. Maybe even her. Her powers. The man who killed her parents. Everything.

"Yeah," she said, letting out a shaky breath, "I'm ready."

 _100%_

The computer beeped quietly.

 _Initializing files for viewing...Files initialized. Ready for viewing._

The screen began scanning through the files, flashing over them too quickly for Adelaide to read. Then, it stopped on a black screen with a prompt box that read:

 _Please type the name of the file._

"Let's start with 1A, okay?" Ned said and Adelaide nodded, too nervous to talk. He typed in 1A and the computer began processing.

 _Locating file 1A. Standby…File 1A successfully located. Opening for viewing..._

File _1A_ was a journal.

Adelaide stared at it, wondering if she was missing something obvious. It was pictures of the pages in a journal and there were many illegible notes and diagrams scribbled over them. It was research.

"Can you...read that?" Ned asked, squinting. Adelaide could feel her heart racing in her chest as her eyes fell on a scribble on the corner of the page.

 _H.R._

It was her father's journal. Henry Rivers. It was his research. Adelaide began looking through it frantically, trying to figure out what it was about. There was a messy sketch of a long tube drawn in the middle with a lot of smaller sketches and notes based off of it. Adelaide felt her face getting hot and her heart gave a squeeze.

She could understand this.

"It's a design for a particle accelerator," she breathed.

"You can actually read that?" Ned asked, shocked. Adelaide's eyes never left the screen, trying to absorb all the information at once. The surprising thing was that she could make sense of it. It was complicated physics, well beyond anything that they taught in high school and, yet, it came to her naturally.

"See that?" she asked him, pointing to her father's initials in the corner, "This is my dad's journal. Henry Rivers."

Ned's eyes grew wide.

"Your father was designing a particle accelerator?!"

Adelaide nodded, reading the notes on the side of the page. They were calculations for dimensions.

"What could he need that for?" Ned asked. Adelaide shook her head.

"I don't know," she said dejectedly. If anything, this had raised more questions. Why would her father need a particle accelerator? What had he been planning?

Adelaide looked through the rest of file _1A_ , but it was just more planning for the accelerator and it gave no information on what it could be for. Although, he had made sketches that had nothing to do with the project (she definitely hadn't inherited his artistic genes) and he had scribbled a science joke in the corner of page to tell Ava later, but Adelaide couldn't make sense of it so she figured it was probably just something between the two of them. He had even made a note to listen to an AC/DC song, but Adelaide couldn't make out the name of it.

She smiled to herself. He would've gotten along pretty well with Tony if he were still alive. But then again, if he was still alive, maybe she wouldn't have met Tony in the first place.

"Is there a way we can see all of the files at once?" she asked. Ned clicked on something on the screen and then it opened a list of all the files from, in order by name.

"2A?" Ned asked, his mouse hovering over the file. Adelaide nodded silently. He clicked on the file and it opened up another part of the same journal. Adelaide chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking.

"Maybe all the files with A are part of the journal?" she asked. They quickly looked through all of the files and found that Adelaide was right — they were all part of the same journal.

"So all the files with A are your dad's research and design for the particle accelerator," Ned said. Adelaide nodded in agreement. It definitely seemed that way.

Adelaide glanced at the clock. Tony and Pepper would be back any minute now and they weren't even close to looking through all of the files. There were hundreds of them.

"Is there a way you can get these files into a flash drive?" she asked, "So I can have them too?"

Ned nodded.

"I can make a copy of them onto the flash drive, but, Adelaide, you have to be super careful where you keep this. We don't even know what's in these files. If it gets into the wrong hands…"

"I know, I know," she said, "Just get them copied and I'll worry about the rest."

"Alright," he said, still unsure if they should make copies of these files. Adelaide opened up a drawer in her desk and pulled out a blank flash drive, handing it to Ned. He quickly plugged it into the laptop and began copying all the files.

"Honey, we're home!" Tony shouted a moment later. Adelaide looked at Ned, panicked. She glanced at the screen. Only half of the files were copied.

"They can't see what we're doing!" she whispered, "Make it go faster!"

"I can't!" he whispered back.

"Adie?"

"What is it!" she shouted back.

"We brought dinner. Wash your hands and get out here," he said. Adelaide glanced at the screen nervously. They only had 10 percent left to copy.

"Adie? You okay in there?" Tony asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine! Just don't come in here!"

Ned blinked at her.

"Why don't you tell him why, too?" he said and Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Why? What's going on?" Tony asked. His voice was getting closer. There was only 5 percent left. Adelaide moved cover the screen just in time before Tony opened the door.

"Hey, Tony," she said, smiling nervously.

"Hey…" he said, watching her suspiciously, "Isn't that Neddie?"

"It's just Ned," she said. Ned faked sneezed to drown out the sound of the beep that the computer made when it had finished copying the files. He subtly tapped Adelaide's wrist, signaling that she could move out of the way now. Adelaide visibly relaxed, stepping to the side.

"Hey M-Mr. Stark," Ned said, standing up.

"Hey, wanna join us for dinner? We have fried monkey's eyes, if you're into that sort of thing," Tony said. Ned looked horrified.

"He's joking," Adelaide said, rolling her eyes and Ned looked very relieved.

"Thank you, but, um, I really have to get going," Ned said, glancing at Adelaide and putting his hand behind his back. Adelaide got the message and discreetly put her hand behind her back as well. Ned quietly pushed the flash drive into her hand while Tony went on about his favorite Italian foods.

"Tony," Adelaide said, interrupting the billionaire, "I think Ned really has to go."

"Oh. Right. I'll tell Happy to get the car out," he said, "It was nice to meet you again Neddie."

Ned didn't bother correcting the billionaire as he turned around and walked out of the room. Both teenagers relaxed, letting out a breath.

"That was a close one," she said, leaning against the desk, "Be safe, okay?"

He nodded, clutching his laptop bag tightly. He patted it confidently.

"Take care of that flash drive, okay? We could get in a lot of trouble," Ned warned.

"Don't worry about it, I have a place to put it," she reassured.

As she would soon come to know, there was no place safe enough for it.

* * *

 **A/N: Adelaide finally got to see the files! Yay! I'm not really sure how much I wanna reveal with these files but don't worry, there's this big thing you get to find out sooon.**

 **Question: _Um, how old do you guys guess_** **_I am? Lol_**

 **Also, don't forget to vote tomorrow if you're American and 18! I'm not a particularly political person but for everyone's sake, please vote responsibly! :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: I'm a little late, I know. There's just a lot going on and I can only find like 10 maybe 15 minutes a day to write this? So, not a lot, obviously. Next chapter might (no promises) be up by Sunday, it's gonna be pretty short and directly to the point, kinda like this one. So what happened in the last chapter? Um, I think they got access to the HYDRA files (thanks to Vision and his eavesdropping skills) and then Tony offered Ned to eat fried monkey eyes. Gross. Thankfully, he was only joking. I hope.**

 **Now about this chapter. Well, you guys will definitely get to see what's in the files so yay *little happy dance*. It's about time ya'll get more information about her parents because it's definitely been a while since last time. Wasn't the last time during chapter 2? Yikes. It has been a while. Don't worry, there's gonna be a lot more of them in the next few chapters. I think. Honestly, even I don't know what's going on so good luck. Just kidding, lol. I have *crosses fingers* everything figured out.**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: Haha! Close! I'm not going to release my real age here lol but I will say that you were pretty close!**_

 **Thank you to: _outsider27, Fluffymarshmallows, saul067, and lizlil_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! Your constant support is getting me through these busy times and I couldn't ask for better!**

 **I'm sure you guys have all heard about the passing of Stan Lee. It is absolutely tragic to see a man, a real-life superhero leave us. I obviously didn't know Mr. Lee personally but I really wish I had gotten the chance to because he seemed like an amazing person. He has changed just so, _so_ many lives that I can't even fathom. He might have left this world, but he will never leave our minds and hearts. He has left behind a huge legacy that his fans will carry on and never let die because he deserves nothing less. Nothing other than respect and love for the incredibly amazing Stan Lee. Thank you for everything. May you rest in peace knowing that you have turned this world into a better place. **

* * *

_"Excelsior!"_

 _– In loving memory of Stan Lee, 1922 – 2018_

* * *

For the next two nights, Adelaide had barely gotten any sleep. She wouldn't be lying if she said that she hadn't slept at all in two days. With the curiosity burning inside of her like a hot flame, there was no way she could sleep. She wanted to read everything in those files and learn as much as she possibly could as fast as she possibly could. This was what she had been waiting for this whole time.

Whenever her eyes would start to droop, she would silently pad into the kitchen and make herself a cup of coffee, taking it back to her room. Adelaide had done her best to keep Tony and Pepper from finding out about her lack of sleep. She couldn't get away with much around Pepper so Adelaide had decided that it would be best if she locked herself in her room with the plain excuse of homework. Maybe it wasn't the best of excuses, but it had worked for the past two days and Adelaide needed maybe only two more to finish going through all of the files.

Once she had gotten through her father's journal (which revealed no information about his purpose for building a particle accelerator), Adelaide had trekked through all of the files from A to D. The files with the D label were the media, meaning pictures and videos, but they mostly consisted of videos.

Adelaide had only been able to watch one video. The moment her father's face appeared on the screen, something had opened up inside of her and she had to spend an hour just to calm herself down.

Adelaide's cursor hovered over the first video from file D. She took a shaky breath.

Back in January, she had had a memory about her parents. It was the one where they had been murdered, but it was the only recollection that she had until now. Now, she had all these videos of her parents and she wanted to burn them into her memory forever. It wasn't as if she had any other memories to remember them by and someone had completely erased their existence off the face of the earth. Including Adelaide herself, until she had appeared at the Tower almost a year ago. Everything only seemed to get more and more confusing from that first moment.

With a deep breath, Adelaide double-clicked on the file, opening it up again. Her stomach began twisting itself into knots and her throat tightened.

Her father's face appeared on the screen. This was about how far she had gotten when she had opened this file yesterday before she had to go and calm herself down.

Her father looked dorky, to say it bluntly. He had big glasses on and he was wearing a shirt with a joke about protons. His hair was obviously disheveled as if he had messed it up by running his hands through it over and over. There were smile lines evident on his face and the corner of his eyes crinkled and shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks when he was smiling. He had a small copper wire wrapped around his ring finger as what Adelaide could only assume was in the place of a wedding ring. She wondered why he didn't have an actually ring, but then the video started and her chest tightened at the sound of his voice.

He sounded like home.

" _Testing, 1, 2, 3," he said, his face really close to the camera._

" _Finally," he mumbled, stepping back from the camera which seemed to be set up on a tripod, although the screen was slightly tilted. He didn't seem to be too good with the technology._

 _He was sitting in some kind of home office with two small windows that were barely giving any sunlight. It looked like the sun was setting. There was a bright overhead light that made up for the darkness outside. The office itself was a scattered mess._

" _Today's date, September 23. This is the first official video documentation of project 1978. Purpose is to...well, learn how to operate the camera. Goal: semi-achieved. Well, not really. Wait, is this recording?" he stepped closer to the camera again so that the video only showed his eyeball as he tried to figure out if it was recording._

" _Ava!" he shouted, "How do I know if this is recording?"_

 _He blinked at the lenses, waiting for an answer. When there was none, he shouted again._

" _Ava!"_

" _What is it!" she shouted back, her face not visible. She sounded as if she was in a different room._

" _How do I know if this is recording?"_

" _Did you press the red button?" she shouted._

" _I think?" Henry said, "Hold on, let me press it again."_

" _Henry, wai—"_

The screen went dark and Adelaide looked at her reflection for a moment. She looked tired but she was smiling broadly. The video (even though her father had accidentally cut it short), made her feel warm inside as if she was there with them at the moment. It was a bittersweet feeling.

Adelaide couldn't open the next video fast enough.

 _Her father's eyeball appeared on the screen again until he stepped back and his whole face was in view. He pushed his glasses up his nose, clearing his throat._

" _It's still me and it's still September 23. Ava helped me with the camera, obviously. Wait, is it recording? Ava!"_

" _What now, Henry?"_

" _Is this recording?"_

" _Yes, and for the love of God keep your voice down. I just got Dellie to sleep and you know she's going to need it," Ava said, appearing at the door. Even with her wrinkled, half untucked shirt and disheveled hair, Ava still looked breathtaking. Her piercing blue eyes twinkled just as bright._

 _Henry turned towards the camera._

" _This is not how I wanted these documentations to be," he groaned._

" _Honey, if you were able to be professional with these things then we wouldn't be here," Ava smiled, walking into the room and tidying up the place._

" _You're right," Henry said, "But this project is the most important thing that we're ever going to do and I want to get this right."_

" _I know," Ava said softly, sighing. She set down a notebook on the table and then leaned against it, quietly staring at the ground. There was something pooling in her eyes and it almost looked like guilt._

" _Dellie, pumpkin, if you're watching this, I just want you to know that your father isn't a total loser, contrary to what your mom —"_

" _Or anyone else," Ava added, a small smile on her face._

"— _might tell you. Now, I'm going to get this right," he said, clearing his throat, "This is the first official video documentation of - wait, you said this was recording, right?"_

 _Ava just closed her eyes and pinched her nose, taking a deep breath. Henry winced._

" _Sorry," he mumbled, facing the camera again. He blinked a couple of times, thinking about something._

" _You know what? I'm just going to start this over again," Henry said, reaching for the camera._

The screen turned black again and Adelaide opened another video immediately.

" _Hello. Yeah, it's still me and, yes, it's still September 23," Henry started. Ava wasn't in the room this time._

" _Project 1978 progress report. Subject is in excellent health, though a case of the sniffles was detected last night. With exception to that, health seems to be optimal for Project 1978. A few more scans might be necessary._

" _Particle accelerator is in the first stages of construction. Location site is to be determined. I have a few places in mind, though. It's close enough to the energy field to power the accelerator, but still a safe distance away. Our primary concern is the safety and health of the subject. Should anything go wrong or even show signs of going wrong, the project will immediately be shut down for inspection. If necessary, the project will be ceased. But let's hope it doesn't come to that. Time is not on our side and this must be done quickly and stealthily. If word was to get out even on accident, the results could be catastrophic. Therefore, the confidentiality of this project is critical._

" _With that, I conclude the first official video documentation of Project 1978," Henry finished, turning the camera off._

The laptop screen went black once again and Adelaide was left to wonder _what the hell_ any of that actually meant. Particle accelerator? Energy field? Subject? Time? Confidential? Adelaide had so many questions she didn't know where to begin. From her experience, the more information she was able to get about her past, the more questions it raised. That was just the very opposite effect that she intended for.

Adelaide sighed, leaning her head back against the headboard and closing her eyes. This was proving to be more stressful than she had imagined.

Her father and mother were making a particle accelerator for Project 1978. But what was Project 1978? They said they had to do it fast because they did not have enough time and they said they had to do it stealthily. Why didn't they have time? Who were they hiding it from? Was it the man who had killed them? Who was the subject they were experimenting on?

Adelaide chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking deeply. There had to be a connection to all this.

But there was one thing that had made clear sense to Adelaide and it was Dellie. She was Dellie. That was what her parents had called her. Adelaide smiled at the thought. She could imagine herself running around the house in her diaper with her parents running after her, shouting ' _Dellie!'_ to get her to stop. Or when they would have played hide-and-go-seek, they would shout ' _Dellie!'_ and she would quietly giggle from her hiding spot.

It was such a small thing, a little detail but it made Adelaide feel closer to her parents than ever. These videos, this nickname , these memories, they felt _real_. Maybe even if she would never remember her past, she knew that her parents had loved her more than anything and that was good enough for her. It would have to be.

With her nickname and parents' faces running through her head and the laptop still open on her lap, Adelaide fell into a dreamless sleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

"Home Alone?" Ned asked, holding up the disk. Adelaide shrugged.

"Put it to side," she said, "We can decide when Pete gets here."

"Speaking of," said Ned, closing the cabinet under the tv, "where is he? It's been half an hour."

They were at Ned's house for a movie night (which they had not had in weeks and it used to be a weekly thing) and they had been waiting for Peter to come for 30 minutes now. The day before, Adelaide had asked him if he wanted to watch a movie at Ned's house since it had been a while since the three of them had hung out. The conversation went something like this:

 _English class (also their last class of the day) was almost over and Peter was getting antsy in his seat. When the bell rang, Peter would be the first one out of the door so he could rush home and practice using his abilities. It was the best part of his day and he was always anxious to get to it. So it was understandable why he was feeling so antsy watching the clock tick on the wall. Was it just him or was it actually ticking slower?_

"Shh _," Adelaide told him and Peter stopped tapping his foot. A moment later he began drumming his fingers._

"Shhh _," Adelaide whispered again, trying to actually pay attention to what their English teacher was saying. She was easily distracted in any of her classes and Peter kept distracting her by making annoying noises. Peter stopped drumming his fingers but then a moment later, he started clicking his pen obnoxiously._

" _Peter, seriously, shut_ up _," Adelaide whispered._

" _Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly. Adelaide glanced at him. Peter had not been the same since their conversation the day before the field trip about...well, her and Ned. Adelaide wanted more than anything for the three of them to be normal again but she wasn't exactly the best at these things and Peter wasn't making it any easier._

 _Adelaide had made countless attempts to make time for the three of them to hang out, but it was always Peter who was busy. She was getting the feeling that he didn't want to hang out anymore which stung. Ned and Peter were the only friends she had._

 _There was the team, but she wasn't as close with them as she was with these dorks. And Tony and Pepper were more of guardian figures than friends. Well, at least Pepper was. Tony was more like a reckless toddler that she was always looking out for. She was sure Pepper felt the same way._

 _Adelaide was getting pretty tired of putting herself out there just to get Peter to agree but she wanted to give it one more shot._

"Pst _," she whispered, trying to catch his attention. Guess she wasn't going to be paying attention in English class today either. Peter looked at her._

" _What?" he whispered back. Adelaide turned around so she could get Ned's attention to since he sat directly behind her._

" _You guys want to watch a movie tomorrow night or something?" she asked. Ned shrugged._

" _Sure," he said. "Hey we can watch it at my place! My parents aren't going to be home tomorrow."_

" _Great," Adelaide said, "Pete?"_

" _Tomorrow?" he asked._

" _Yeah, we don't have any English or Chemistry homework. I checked," she said, eliminating any plausible lies._

" _Sure, But only if we watch a Christmas movie," he said. Adelaide grinned._

" _Deal."_

And, yet, he still wasn't here. It had been a whole hour now. He usually would have called or at least texted. There was only radio silence from his end and Adelaide was starting to get worried. The sun was beginning to set, and it was getting darker outside by the minute.

"Maybe we should try calling him," Adelaide said to Ned who was making a bowl of popcorn in the kitchen. His living room and kitchen had no wall in between so it was like one big room and they could see each other from the different rooms.

"Yeah," Ned said, nodding in agreement.

Adelaide unplugged her phone from the charging port and opened Peter's contact. She had already left him 107 messages which were all left unread. Adelaide tapped on the number and the phone began dialing. She held it up to her ear nervously.

She listened to every ring go through until she heard the woman from the voicemail box and her heart dropped. He wasn't even answering his phone.

"What happened?" Ned asked, seeing the look on Adelaide's face. He set down the bowl of fresh popcorn and walked over to her.

"He's not answering his phone, either," she told him, "You call him."

"Okay," Ned said, grabbing his phone from the coffee table and dialing Peter's number. He listened to the ringing all the way until he heard the automated voice from the voicemail box and then he pulled his phone away from his ear, shaking his head. Adelaide's face fell.

"Listen, it's probably nothing," Ned reassured, "He probably went out to get candy or something and got stuck in traffic."

"For an _hour_?" she questioned. Ned just looked at her.

"This is New York. Where have you been living for the past year?" Ned said, settling into the couch with his share of the extra buttery popcorn. If anything, Peter was missing out on this amazing popcorn. Adelaide rolled her eyes, flopping down next to him.

At the moment, there were hundreds of files about her parents waiting for her at home. She would much rather be going through those instead of watching a movie, even though tonight had been her plan. Although, she did need a small break from the headache of trying to figure out what things meant. Even though she had all the files and information at her fingertips, none of it made sense. So far, the only thing that she had learned was the plans to build a particle accelerator and that her dad liked AC/DC. Neither of those explained much.

Ned switched on the tv, flipping through the channels to find something to watch until Peter got here. Adelaide glanced over at him as he was gobbling up the popcorn. He caught her staring and looked down at the bowl and then back at her.

"Oh, my bad, you want some?" he asked, holding the bowl out.

"No, thanks," she said, "But you're going to finish that bowl before we even start the movie."

He shrugged.

"We have tons," was his reply. And with that, Ned turned on a random episode of Friends (which Adelaide still had yet to watch but it was on her list of things to watch which was mostly full of Tony's suggestions) and they watched about three of them until Adelaide realized that another hour had passed and Peter still wasn't here. She began to get really worried.

"Ned, it's been another hour. You think he would have at least replied to _one_ of my texts," she said.

"Try calling him again," Ned said, pausing the tv just as Rachel fell over the balcony while trying to get the Christmas lights.

Adelaide called him again, holding the phone up to her ear. Once again, it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey Peter, it's Adelaide. We were supposed to meet two hours ago and you're still not here. I'm not mad, I just-" she paused, sighing, "Just call me as soon as you get this, okay?"

She ended the call, dropping the phone into her lap.

"Voicemail," she told Ned, sighing. He looked past his friend, outside. It was dark out now and even he getting was starting to feel worried.

"Maybe Uncle Ben knows where he is," Ned suggested.

Adelaide was already dialing his number. She held the phone up to her ear. Two rings later, she stood up and began nervously pacing on the carpet. Then, Uncle Ben picked up.

" _Hey Adelaide,"_ he said, sounding like he was in a good mood. He had no idea about his nephew.

"Hey Uncle Ben," she said, her heart beating loudly in her chest, "Um, has Peter called you, or anything?"

" _No, not recently. He told me he was going out, but that's all I've heard of him,"_ Ben said. Adelaide's face fell. " _Adelaide, is there something I should know?"_

"What? No, there's nothing. Well, um, sorry to bother you, goodnight," she said.

" _Goodnight to you too,"_ he replied and Adelaide ended the call, tossing her phone onto the couch.

"Uncle Ben doesn't know where he is either," she said, starting to freak out. She ran her hands through her hair. "What do we do now?"

"Did you tell Uncle Ben that he wasn't here?" Ned asked. She shook her head, swallowing.

"No! Of course not! I don't want them getting worried, what else was I supposed to say! Hey Uncle Ben, your nephew hasn't been answering any of my phone calls or messages for the past two and a half hours but it's nothing to worry about because I'm sure he hasn't been kidnapped by some New York gang. Ned, Peter had _promised_ to be here! Ever since we found those HYDRA files, the three of us have barely hung out together and tonight was supposed to be about that! And he didn't even have the decency to show up or at least text back!"

"Woah, calm down, Adelaide. Take a deep breath," Ned said. She sat down on the couch, taking a shaky breath. Why did this matter to her so much? Why did Peter? Why did she care so much about how much they hung out? Why was so worried about him?

 _Because he's one of your best friends, you idiot._

Adelaide sighed, closing her eyes. That was true. But then why did she feel like there was more to it?

* * *

Peter Parker had completely forgotten about his promise to meet up at Ned's house this evening. In fact, he still hadn't remembered.

In the wintertime, the daylight faded fast and early. Which was why it was completely dark outside at a time that used to be fairly bright. The darkness cut his curfew short so he had to stop testing his abilities and come home early.

Throwing his web shooters into his backpack, he rang the doorbell and tried to calm his nerves. A moment later, Uncle Ben opened the door, a warm smile on his face.

"Hey there, champ. We thought you were going to spend the night in an alley," he teased, stepping to the side so Peter could walk inside.

"I'm not that late," he said with a smile on his face. The adrenaline was still I getting in his veins and he had a hard time calming himself down. He dropped his backpack from one shoulder, holding it over the other as he made his way to the stairs. "I think I'm just going to go to bed now."

"Are you sure you don't want to have dinner? May made your favorite, spaghetti and meatballs," Ben said. Peter was feeling a little tired from the swinging and he still had to go to school tomorrow.

"I'm not really hungry. Thanks, though. Goodnight, Uncle Ben."

"Goodnight, champ."

Peter made his way up the stairs slowly until he arrived at his room. Once he was inside, he threw his backpack on the floor next to the door and changed into his pajamas.

As he was turning off the lights, he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to go to Ned's house today for movie night.

He flopped down onto the bed and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was too late now. They had probably watched a movie without him.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. He guessed that Ada was probably a bit mad since this whole thing was her idea, but he would just apologize to her tomorrow. She would probably arrange another date for movie night and it would be fine.

Without even glancing at his phone which he had accidentally left in his backpack, Peter fell asleep within seconds.

* * *

 **ADELAIDE I-DONT-CARE-ABOUT-MY-PHONE-BECAUSE-I'M-PRACTICALLY-TONY-STARK'S-DAUGHTER RIVERS. GOD. HOW MANY TIMES DID SHE TOSS HER PHONE SOMEWHERE? I had a mini-heart attack each time. My fingers might just slip and the phone might break. *evil laugh***

 _ **Question: I can't really think of anything. Oh, wait, I know. If there was one thing you could say to Stan Lee, what would it be?**_


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: I have good news and bad news.**

 **Bad news first: The next couple of updates are probably going to be as late as this one because I, unfortunately, have final exams coming up.**

 **Good news: THE SEMESTER ENDS IN 3 WEEKS!**

 **Also good news: Once the semester is over, hopefully, updates will be much faster and you guys won't hate me as much. :)**

 **Alright so quick recap: Last chapter, Peter, Adie, and Ned were supposed to hang out but Peter didn't show up and Adie got super mad. Like SUPER SUPER mad.**

 **Alright, so I don't have much else to say, but I will give you this: Chapter 29 is a verrrryyyyy specialllll chapter ;) ;) ;)**

 **Thank you to: mafiaprinecss01, CrumblingUniverses, and CurlyOne for following/favoriting or leaving a review! I'm sorry the updates are so slow but only for a little longer, I promise!**

* * *

 _"You live in the Stark Tower,_

 _smart genes should be floating_

 _in your direction all the time."_

* * *

Peter waved Uncle Ben goodbye and lingered around until his car pulled out of the drop-off lane at the school. Then he turned around and made his way towards the school, looping his thumbs under his backpack strap. It was unusually cold today, he noticed.

Peter looked upwards. As usual, there was so sun, but the sky was filled with dark clouds which Peter hoped was snow and not rain. The more snow, the better. That way school would cancelled. Then again, he hadn't really tested his web shooters in below freezing conditions. It _would_ be a good time to test that out.

Rubbing his hands together to warm them up, Peter walked inside the school. Instantly, he was greeted with warmth and he let out a breath. He checked his watch, he still had a good 10 minutes until he was supposed to be in his seat for his first class of the day. Peter looked around the room, but he couldn't find Ada or Ned anywhere. That's strange. They were usually here before him. Scratch that, they were _always_ here before him.

"Hey Parker," Flash said, coming up from behind him. He patted his shoulder with a little more force than necessary.

"Listen," Flash started, "about our...argument last week. I say we just put it behind us and forget about the whole thing. What do you think, Parker?"

He squeezed Peter's shoulder, trying to hurt him subtly. Peter realized that a few people were actually watching this conversation so he put up a nervous smile.

"Yeah," he said through gritted teeth, "Sure, Flash."

Once again, Flash patted his shoulder a little harder than was necessary. With a fake, bright smile, he left. As soon as he was out of sight, Peter rubbed his shoulder, rolling it around. He had a feeling that Flash wasn't going to be as friendly as he was acting. At least, that's what his shoulder told him. He was going to have to be more careful.

As he looked around again, he still couldn't see Ada or Ned anywhere. It was almost time for class and the hallway was getting emptier. Where were they? And then, he heard them. Well, her at least. What a coincidence that there was no one left in the hallway to save him.

" _PETER BENJAMIN PARKER!_ You _asshole_!"

Peter hadn't realized that it was Ada who was yelling at him until she shoved him. Caught off guard, he stumbled backwards a bit. Peter watched his friend heaving with anger, trying to piece together what was going on.

"Ada–"

" _Where the hell_ were you last night?! Do you know how many times I texted you? Called you? Peter, I filled your entire voicemail box and sent you 258 messages which _you still haven't answered_! We were supposed to watch a movie. The three of us. And you had _promised_! What the hell was so important that you couldn't come and be yourself for _one night_? What's gotten into you? You didn't even read any of my texts! I had to call Uncle Ben to ask him where the hell his nephew was and you know what? He had no idea either! So you lied to everyone and disappeared and have the audacity to look surprised that I'm mad at you?"

Peter blinked. His brain was running a bit slow and he was still trying to process everything. He definitely did _not_ expect for Ada to be this mad.

"Look, Ada, you're overreacting. I was just–"

"I'm _overreacting_?!" she gasped angrily.

Uh-oh. That was definitely not the right thing to say. Then again, what exactly _was_ he supposed to say in a situation like this? Maybe _I'm sorry_ would have been acceptable. It was too early for this — he was hardly fully awake.

"That's not what I mea–"

"Then what did you mean, Peter? Because if worrying all night long wondering if you were okay is overreacting then yes, I was. If feeling my heart beating in my rib cage out of fear for two hours, then yes, Peter I was overreacting. I'm sorry for worrying and I'm sorry for caring too damn much. Maybe it's better off this way," she said, ending with a cold, hard look.

Before Peter even had a chance to say anything, she turned around and left. A moment later, the bell rang and Peter sighed. That was definitely the shortest confrontation in history and Peter had a feeling Ada wasn't going to be in the mood to confront him anytime soon.

* * *

Adelaide had ignored him the best she could all day.

During lunch, Peter tried to make conversation with her but he only got one-word answers and shrugs in reply. And that was only if it was a yes or no question. Otherwise, it was cold, cold silence. Even Ned was kind of mad at him, but then Peter had apologized and they got over it. He just couldn't understand why Ada was so angry about it. He knew that it was his fault and he should have called her and he was willing to apologize for it too, but, apparently, that wasn't enough for Adelaide. He didn't know what else to do or say. She wasn't even willing to listen.

Peter thought that Ada was wrong to get this mad. So he had a secret. So did she. It wasn't like he questioned where she had disappeared to for a month during 8th grade or why she showed up for the last day with no explanation. And he never forced her to let him go to her house even though she's been to his a million times. And that one time during Halloween when she had disappeared from his house and didn't answer his calls or texts all night. So why couldn't she let this one time slide?

Peter had already made several attempts to apologize throughout the day but she wasn't hearing it so he eventually gave up, not knowing what else to do or say. If she wanted to be stubborn, then fine — so could he.

It was almost time to leave and they were packing up their things after their lesson ended in English. The moment the bell rang, Adelaide was the first one out the door. Peter sighed, zipping up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He waited for Ned to finish packing up and then they both made their way out together.

"Adelaide's really mad," Ned said quietly. Peter looked at him.

"Really? I had no idea," he said sarcastically. Ned rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean, Peter. Man, you should have seen her last night. I don't think I've _ever_ seen her look that panicked. I don't think I've ever seen _anyone_ look that panicked. You really hurt her, Peter."

"Well it's not like she hasn't done this to me before," Peter argued, "Remember Halloween? How she disappeared and didn't answer any of my calls or messages all night? What about that, Ned? I hadn't even gotten mad."

"That was different."

Peter looked at him, slightly annoyed that his best friend wasn't taking his side.

"Different how? I was just as worried as her."

"Peter, you knew that she was going home. You saw the car pick her up. Last night, she called Uncle Ben and he had no idea where you were either. She was really scared."

Peter looked away.

"I already tried apologizing," he said. He shrugged. "I don't know what else to do."

Ned thought about it.

"What if you put her in a situation where she was forced to talk to you?"

Peter looked at him with slightly worried eyes.

"I'm not going to torture her until she talks to me, Ned."

"What? No! No, that's not what I meant," Ned said, "Listen, we have this big Algebra test coming up this Friday. What if you, you know, offered to help her out with it? Like you guys always do."

Peter chuckled.

"I don't think she even wants to be in the same room as me, I doubt she'll agree to that."

Ned looked around as if he was making sure no one could hear what he was about to say.

"Between you and me, she definitely needs the help. And I'm pretty sure she knows it too," Ned whispered. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"You know she'd get really mad at you if she heard that?"

"How is it going to help if she's mad at both of us, Peter?" Ned said like it was obvious.

"I'm just saying that it would piss her off," Peter shrugged. Ned let out a breath.

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Okay, okay. So how do I ask her? Should I go to her house? Do you know where she lives?"

Ned's eyes grew wide and he cleared his throat nervously.

"W-Why don't you just text her?" he offered, changing the subject. He knew that he'd give it away if he tried to lie. Peter considered it. It could work. She probably wouldn't answer his first text or the first ten but he doubted that she could ignore a hundred of them.

"Fine," Peter said. They were approaching the exit now where students were getting into cars and going home. "But this is my last attempt to apologize to her. After this, if she doesn't want to listen, I'm not going to keep trying."

There go his plans of swinging around for the afternoon.

"Okay," Ned said giving him a thumbs up. Peter noticed that Uncle Ben was already here and he began to make his way to the car after waving goodbye to Ned. Halfway there, Ned shouted his name. Peter turned around.

"What?"

"Get a box of chocolates. You know, for damage control," Ned said. Peter nodded thoughtfully and then got inside the car.

"Hey kiddo, tough day at school?" Ben asked, pulling onto the road.

"You have no idea," Peter sighed. A moment later, "Hey, Uncle Ben, can we stop by a chocolate shop?"

"Sure thing, champ."

* * *

Adelaide had locked herself in her room again and she was looking through her parents' files, though her mind was elsewhere. Every time she thought about him or their fight, she felt angry again. She could not believe that he thought she was _overreacting_. She'd show him overreacting. And when she had left the school, he didn't even try to stop her to apologize. She wouldn't have forgave him, of course, but it would have been nice to know that he was sorry.

With a very heavy sigh, Adelaide opened up another file. She had finished the video documentaries and the rest were just results of their experiment — or Project 1978. She still had no idea what it was for or why it was called 1978. That was such a weird name to give to a project.

She skimmed through the file that she had just opened. This one was different from the rest. It wasn't written by her parents but it was a file about some man.

 _Agent #1585_

 _Sex: M_

 _Eye color: Black_

 _Height: 6' 7"_

 _Nationality: Russia_

 _Date of recruitment: September 1983_

 _Handicaps: None_

— _Edit: Partially visually handicapped_

 _Assignment: Agent #1183_

 _Supervisor: Ivan Lukov_

 _Background: Mother and Father presumably deceased due to drug overdose. Raised by abusive and alcoholic uncle. Joined a local gang and later joined HYDRA. Assigned Agent #1183 a few months later._

There were some other things in that file but they didn't make sense to Adelaide so she closed the file. It had nothing to do with her parents so why was it here? Maybe it was a glitch. As Adelaide moved on to open the next file, a small voice in the back of her mind told her that HYDRA didn't make glitches. She decided that she would talk to Ned about it later.

The next file was about a report from an experiment from Project 1978. It was about the energy field and it was written by her father.

 _Particle accelerator is in stage four of five of construction. The location is secured. Energy field expected to be peaking exactly two weeks from now around midnight. Levels of instability are reaching unprecedented heights. Note, it is a surprise that facility held up for so long after its shut down in '65. Optimal time for the production of Project 1978 is 23:55. To be finalized soon. Energy field harness and reflector completed 27 consecutively successful run-throughs today. The repeated experimentation might have slightly altered the time or date for the production of Project 1978._

The next file was about the subject that they were experimenting on in Project 1978. Just as the file was opening, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it. It was a message from Peter. Adelaide's face hardened in anger as she picked up the phone to read the message.

 **Peter** : _I know you're mad at me and I want to make it up to you._

 _What if you came over and I helped you study for your math test?_

 _Like we always do._

Adelaide rolled her eyes and tossed her phone to the side, making sure it landed face-down so she wouldn't have to read any more of the messages. A moment later, she turned her attention back to the file. It was a description of the subject her parents had experimented on for Project 1978.

The description was very vague. It only listed a few physical aspects and then some medical. Other than that, she couldn't get any more information from it.

 _Age: 5_

 _Sex: F_

 _Height: 3' 2"_

 _Weight: 40 lbs_

 _BMI: Healthy_

 _All required shots: Completed_

 _Red blood cell count: Healthy_

 _White blood cell count: Healthy_

 _Physical abnormalities: None_

The thing that Adelaide found most unusual was the age. They were experimenting on a 5 year old? With a particle accelerator and a strange energy field? What in the world _was_ Project 1978? She read the description of the subject once again, but it gave no indication. Sighing, she closed the file. Well, that was the last file in that folder.

Upon opening the next folder, she discovered that there was a single video documentation in it. Just as she was about to click on it, her phone began ringing. She flipped it around, her eyes darting to the caller ID. Peter.

She pressed the red button, effectively hanging up the call. She did _not_ want to talk with him. Once again, just as she was about to open the file, her phone began ringing again.

Adelaide had the sudden urge to chuck it out the window but, instead, she just ended it again. This time, she turned her ringer off. Taking a deep breath, she faced the computer once again.

 _Again_ , the phone began vibrating loudly on her desk just as she was about the open the file. Adelaide groaned, tossing her head back in anger. If this was Peter's idea of apologizing, it was certainly having the very opposite effect.

Just so he would stop calling, she picked up.

" _What,_ " she hissed through gritted teeth. It wasn't even a question — it was a demand. Either he didn't sense the anger dripping from her voice or he chose to ignore it.

" _Hey,"_ he said rather cheerfully, " _did you get my message?"_

"Yes," she said curtly. He waited for a heartbeat, expecting an explanation. When she offered none, he cleared his throat.

" _And?"_

"No." _Go choke on a fly._

" _Please? Look, I'm trying to make it up to you. How can I make it up to you if you don't even give me a chance? And, plus, I know how important this math test is. I can really help you study for it and I promise that you'll have my full attention and I won't leave until you do. I think it's a —"_

"Fine," she snapped, sounding angry still.

" _Great! And I have a surprise too…"_

"Goodbye," she said, ending the call.

The only reason she had agreed was so that he would stop calling her. She considered standing him up like he had her but then she concluded that she wasn't like him and he would probably catch on and not get worried like she had. On the other hand, she had needed help with this test but she was too prideful to ask. Especially after...the events of this morning. But that didn't mean that she was any less mad at him.

Taking a deep breath, she focused her attention back to the computer. The video. It was about the 5 year old they were experimenting on. With another deep breath, she opened the video.

It had not even been half a second of the video when Tony shouted her name. Adelaide groaned loudly, hitting her head against the desk.

"I'm doing homework!" she shouted back. He knocked on her door and Adelaide immediately flipped her laptop shut, turning around. In her haste, she almost knocked over the cup of coffee sitting on her desk. Luckily, she caught it just in time. Tony pushed open the door and walked inside.

"I have something more important," he said, matter-of-factly. Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"Even worth getting an earful from Pepper once I tell her that you're not letting me do my homework?"

He shrugged.

"You can do your homework later. Haven't you been getting a lot more than usual lately?" he inquired with slightly narrowed eyes. Adelaide cleared her throat, stalling.

"Yeah, well, um...you know, midterms are coming up," she lied. Midtown High didn't have midterms. But she's already lied so many times so why not once more?

"You don't need to study," he said, "You live in the Stark Tower, smart genes should be floating in your direction all the time."

Adelaide furrowed her eyebrows.

"Um, sorry to break your bubble, but that's not how genetics work," she said. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Are you gonna help me or not?"

She slumped into her seat.

"Can't you go bother Pepper? Or Happy?"

"They're both out. Now get off of your lazy butt and come help me," he said.

"You can say 'ass', you know" Adelaide said, getting up and begrudgingly following him down the hall.

"You're too young for that kind of language," he said, waving his hand. Adelaide scowled.

"I am _14_ ," she reminded him, irritated, "I think can handle a cuss word, Tony."

"Mm, I don't think so," he said, opening up the door to his lab. She walked in after him, rolling her eyes.

 _This_ _man_. _Argh_.

"What do you need me for? You have like a million suits and robots to do stuff for you," she said, almost turning to go back.

"None of them can control light, can they?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"Well, they can't," he said, hunched over something on his desk, "Not yet, at least."

"Good to know," she grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest, "I still don't know what you need me for."

"I was getting there," he said. Suddenly, he stood up abruptly and turned around, grinning broadly. "I'm making a software update for my machinery."

"I'm the last person on earth that could help you with that," she pointed out, "Actually, I probably couldn't help you then, either."

"I need you," he said, walking around his desk, "to create an illusion of an extreme situation so I can test my beta program."

"Situation? What kind of situation?"

He shrugged.

"That's up to you," he said. Adelaide frowned.

"Yes, but do you want to see if your new software supports surfing or a hit from a cannon ball?" she said. He considered it.

"We can try both. You up for it?" He turned around again and began fiddling with something on his desk. Then, he disappeared under the desk.

Adelaide lifted one shoulder.

"Depends. How long is this gonna take?"

He popped his head up.

"It's 3:30, you can finish your homework later," he said.

"You have 30 minutes," she said.

For the next 60 minutes, Adelaide created illusions as the billionaire ordered.

 _Adie, make the waves bigger!_

 _Adie, make an alien!_

 _Adie, get me a soda!_

The last one, she did not do. But this little...experiment had gotten her mind off of the bigger experiment: Project 1978. Even though, Tony had promised to only take 30 minutes of her precious time, he had, of course, lied. She didn't mind, though. It was admittedly fun, though a little tiring. Nothing she couldn't handle.

Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was time for her to go to Peter's house. She groaned internally. That was the place she wanted to go. In fact, she didn't want to see his face again until he had properly apologized.

 _How is he going to apologize if you're never going to see him?_

She rolled her eyes at herself without realizing.

"Where are you going? We still have to test out Mars," he said. She stopped by the door.

"I'm going to Pete's," she told him, "And we are _not_ going to Mars. You said 30 minutes and it's been 60."

"Touché," he mumbled, "Have fun."

She pushed the door to the lab open, feeling her anger towards Peter resurfacing. If he didn't apologize today, she was never talking to him again.

"Oh I will," she muttered to herself before walking out and letting the door shut behind her.

* * *

A few minutes later, she arrived at Peter's house. She got out of the car and waved Happy bye. He told her that he would be back in exactly one hour and Adelaide couldn't wait for the hour to be over.

She knocked on the door, waiting impatiently. She realized that there we no cars in the driveway which meant Ben and May weren't home. Good. That meant she could yell at him as loudly as she wanted to.

Looking up, she noticed that the sky looked particularly cloudy today. And the clouds were dark. Was it going to rain?

Before she could contemplate her answer, the door swung open and Peter was smiling broadly on the other side. He stepped to the side so she could walk in. In an instant she was warm again and she shed her coat, hanging it on the coat rack. When she turned around, Peter was standing there, holding something behind his back. Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

He was acting weird. This morning, he had told her that she was overreacting and now...well, he was acting weird.

"I got you this," he said, holding up a box of chocolates, "To apologize. So...um, I'm sorry."

Adelaide glanced at the top of the box. Coconut-flavored chocolates. She looked up at Peter.

"Did you know," she started, her voice a steely whisper, "that there is only one thing on earth that I'm allergic to?"

Peter's face fell. Of course. How could he have forgotten? He cursed at himself.

"I'm gonna guess it's coconuts?" he said weakly. Adelaide gave him a deathly glare in reply.

Peter tossed the box onto the couch, clearing his throat nervously. Well, that was more words than she had said to him all day. Progress.

"Um, well, we should start studying," he said, trying his best to not be intimidated by her glare. She said nothing, just stood there with her arms crossed. Then, she grabbed her backpack off the floor with considerable force and marched up the stairs. With a long and heavy sigh, Peter followed after him. This was not going well, well, for him at least.

When she entered his room, she dropped her backpack by the door and pulled out her math homework and began working silently. Peter watched her from the doorway, slightly gaping. That was definitely...unusual. Usually, she would complain about math and curse at the homework a million times before actually starting.

He cleared his throat nervously. She was really mad this time.

"So," he said, opening up his own backpack, "how did you find out you were allergic to coconuts?"

She answered him with cold silence. The question had managed to make her even more angry because she did not know the answer. She tightened and relaxed her jaw.

 _Remember, he has no idea. That is not what you are mad about._

But at this point, she was just angry and she couldn't establish. Everything was blending together. Letting out a quiet, frustrated sigh, she began scribbling something down on her math homework.

After a few more minutes of stoic silence, Adelaide looked up from her paper. She needed help. But she didn't want to ask. From the corner of his eye, Peter had noticed the dilemma on her face and knew instantly what she was thinking. He opened his mouth to offer to help, but then quickly closed it. A small smile appeared on his face. He could wait to help her. At least, until she asked.

The silence stretched on for an agonizingly long minute. And then two. Three...Four...Peter could hear her pencil scraping across the paper angrily, trying to solve it for herself...Five….Six...Sev—

"Um," she said, effectively breaking the silence, "I…"

Peter wasn't in a hurry to finish her sentence for her even though he knew what followed. He suppressed a grin.

"I...Can you…" she said, trailing off each time, "I...um...I need help." She blurted the last part out quickly, feeling a heat of embarrassment.

 _Argh! He had purposely called me here because he damn well knew that I would have to talk to him! And I did!_

She began to feel angry again but then Peter took the paper from her hands, studying it. A moment later, he bent down so he was level with the table and slid the paper in front of her again.

"You set this equal to zero and then...see this?" He pointed to an equation at the top of the paper. "This is the equation you're supposed to use to find the answer for this. Then you just plug it in up here and that's it."

He always explained these things so simply it made her feel stupid for not seeing them before. As he stood up again, a certain word stumbled at the tip of her tongue. A word that was usually said after someone had done something nice for you.

"Um," she started.

 _No! Don't say thanks! You're still mad at him!_

"Yes?" he said, feeling a smile on his face. He could tell what she was struggling to say.

"Nothing," she said after a moment. He shrugged.

"Okay," he said, walking back to his own homework.

Thankfully, Adelaide hadn't needed any more help from him after that and the rest of the hour passed by quickly. Soon, her phone lit up, informing her that Happy was waiting outside. With a sigh, she began packing her things into her backpack again. She stood up, slinging her backpack around her shoulder.

She glanced at Peter who was standing as well and then nodded before turning away and heading out the door.

"Wait!" he blurted, catching up to her. She turned around just as he caught up to her. "I'll walk you to the door."

She gave him a curt nod and headed downstairs, with him right beside her. As the approached the door, Peter got more nervous. She still hadn't forgiven him. It wasn't like he should try to apologize again, because he already had. Like, a million times.

Taking a deep breath, he faced her again just as she was reaching for the doorknob.

"Listen," he said, holding his hand out to stop her, "I'm really, _really_ sorry about last night. You're right. I should have called you and told you but...I didn't and I'm sorry."

Adelaide studied his face for a moment.

"I thought I was _overreacting_ ," she said. Peter sighed.

"Yes, and I'm sorry about saying that, too. Next time, I'll call you, I promise."

"This isn't about calling me, Peter!" she said, feeling her anger returning in waves. She was suddenly as mad as she was last night. She couldn't believe that he thought he could get away with just promising to call next time! _Next_ time?

"Then…?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Adelaide let out an angry groan.

"You can't just fix this by promising to call next time! There shouldn't _be_ another next time!" she shouted, "All I wanted was one night. Just _one damn night_ where the three of us could hang out for once! I've been trying for weeks but _every single time_ you were busy. And the _one_ day that you had _promised_ to be there, you weren't! On top of that, I had no idea where you were!"

Peter opened his mouth but Ada, apparently, wasn't finished.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that there is nothing going on between Ned and I. It's all in your head and I just wanted one night where the three of us could hang out to prove that there really isn't —"

"Wait, _what?_ " Peter asked, interrupting. When she didn't answer, he answered his own question. "You did this whole thing because you think that I still believe that _you and Ned_...Oh my God, Ada! Seriously? I can't believe this!"

Now he was angry too. He couldn't believe that this whole time, _that_ was the motivation behind her actions!

"What do you expect me to think!" she shouted back.

"I expect you to trust me like I trusted you when you told me there was nothing going on between you two!" he shouted. Adelaide felt her jaw tightening.

"Trust you?! Peter, you disappeared last night without explanation and _you want me to trust you?!_ Are you _mad_!"

"At least I was only gone last night! What about the time you disappeared for a whole month and showed up on the last day of school without explanation! How am I supposed to trust you after that!"

"That," she said, dropping her voice to a deadly whisper, "was different."

"Really?" he breathed, "Well why don't you explain how?"

"You knew I was safe. I called you and I texted you almost _every_ — _single_ — _day_. Don't you _dare_ turn this around on me," she whispered, taking a step closer to him. There were almost nose-to-nose now, both heaving with anger. Peter didn't take a step back.

"You were gone," he whispered, taking another step closer, "for a _month_ , Ada." Peter had a few inches on her so they were nose-to-chin now and he was glaring down at her in anger.

"I didn't sleep last night because I was so damn worried," she said, "I almost called the police to report that you were missing. I almost went out there to look for you myself, damn it. If Uncle Ben hadn't called me when he had and told me that you were home safely, Peter, I don't know what I would have done. Do you have _any_ idea what was running through my head during those hours?"

Peter didn't have an answer to that. He knew that she had been worried, but he didn't know it was this much. He didn't know that while he had been peacefully sleeping, she was pacing her room, debating whether she should go look for him herself. He didn't know that he had worried her that much. He didn't think _anyone_ had _ever_ been that worried about him. Maybe he had scared her a bit. A subtle feeling of guilt washed over him. If he was in her place, he would have been pretty mad, too.

Peter suddenly realized how close they were. They were less than an inch apart. They had been this close before. So why was it just striking him now? And how come he had never noticed the gray freckles in her bright blue eyes or the curve of her long lashes? Her cheeks were slightly red from the anger, but had they always looked his soft? Why was he just noticing all this? What was this feeling?

His eyes unknowingly flickered down to her lips. They looked…

He felt himself leaning down, seemingly not in control of his body. Peter was only vaguely aware of his actions as he parted his own lips.

A moment later, they were on hers.

For second, Adelaide was frozen like an ice wall. She thought she was imagining things. But the tingling feeling of the soft, warm lips on hers told her that this was real. Very real. As if it was a instinctive thing to do, she found herself kissing him back, losing control of her own actions and distinctly realizing how crazy this was. Her anger seeming vanished as other thoughts took control of her mind.

It took the two a second to realize what they were doing before they both jerked away, staggering backwards, eyes wide.

Adelaide could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Her breath was out of control. The feeling scared her. She was suddenly aware of herself, in this room, her nerves on fire. It took every muscle in her body to keep herself from reaching up to her lips. The were warm and sparking with what could only be described as electricity.

Peter felt his heart hammering in his ribcage and he tried to concentrate on keeping the blush from reaching his face. Instead, he found himself focused on the lingering feeling of her lips on his. He clenched his fist, trying to calm his nerves.

The two made eye contact, trying to read each other's thoughts.

Peter swallowed, feeling his face heating up. He didn't want to see how red he looked. Adelaide took a quiet, shaky breath that seemed to echo in the room.

 _What was that?_

Adelaide struggled to find her voice and then to form a sentence. She had to get out of here.

"I...I have to go," she managed. Her voice sounded a lot shakier than she liked and definitely not her own, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the door. Her head was spinning with a multitude of questions.

Peter nodded shakily, internally cursing at himself.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"R-Right," he stuttered.

Adelaide looked at him again for a moment before twisting the doorknob and walking out as fast as she could without running.

Happy was already there and Adelaide had never been so happy to see him. She hurriedly got inside the car and closed the door with tinted windows, leaning back in her seat, trying to steady her breathing. She hadn't realized how breathless she was.

"What's the matter?" Happy asked, looking slightly concerned after seeing the expression on the teenager's face.

"Just drive," was all she could manage to say. When she looked outside, there were soft, white flakes falling to the frozen ground. It was finally snowing. Adelaide closed her eyes, leaning back into her seat again.

As much as she hated to admit, somewhere along the way home, she had reached up to touch her tingling lips and she was left with a warm feeling in her heart, despite the cold outside.

* * *

 **A/N: *** **PARTY SIRENS IN THE DISTANCE***

 **IT FINALLY HAPPENED! How many of you actually saw this coming? I didn't lol. I was almost done with the chapter until I realized that they were supposed to kiss! And then I went back and edited like a good author.**

 **So what did you guys think of it? Probably that it was too short lol. I would say don't worry, but there aren't anymore kisses happening anytime soon.**

 **Tony: Darn it.**

 **Sorry, Tony. *grins* Well, I'm sure you can guess what's next. Awkwardnessss.**

 _ **Question: What's your favorite thing about Adelaide?**_


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME TRAILER?! I HAD A HEART ATTACK WHEN TONY SAID HIS OXYGEN WAS GOING TO RUN OUT. IF MARVEL KILLS HIM, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ANSWER TO ME. ALSO. HOW THE HELL DID SCOTT LANG WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD SHOW UP AT THE FRONT DOOR? WHAT? I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL APRIL I NEED THE MOVIE NOWWWWWWW. AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE TITLE SKSKSKSKSKS.**

 **I know we've all been anxiously waiting for the trailer and title to drop but know that it did, I'm sitting in the corner crying and shouting at Marvel for trying to kill me.**

 **In other news, I only have one more week left of this semester and it's filled with final exams so wish me luck...**

 **Since it's been a minute since we've read the last chapter, a quick recap: Adelaide got super mad at Peter for leaving her hanging and making her worried so Peter invited her to his house to help her study for her math test and as Adie was leaving, he kissed her and now things are mad awkward haha. I love confusing my characters. It makes my job so much more fun.**

 **This chapter, admittedly, has almost nothing to do with Peter minus a couple of scenes so sorry if that's what you were expecting. I had to get something else to happen before we move into Uncle Ben's arc so here we are. And I did NOT cry while writing it, I promise.**

 _ **lizlil: You asked for a Pepperony moment with Adie and you got one! I know they haven't been around in the past few chapters, but I really had to focus on lot of other things and I couldn't find a way to squeeze in a lot of moments with the three of them. I tried to squeeze in a couple in this chapter, though. There probably won't be a whole lot until Civil War starts so...:/ But thanks for leaving a review!**_

 **Thank you to: _crawler123, ohheyisabella, lizlil, and LenaMiaH_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! I'm so glad you all enjoy this story!**

* * *

" _Let me kiss youuuu!"_

* * *

The wind was howling. Through the window, Adelaide could see a white blanket rolling over the streets of Manhattan. The snow was sparkling bright enough to light the whole city and yet it looked darker than ever before.

The wind whistled again, making its presence known.

" _After an anxious wait for snowfall this year, New York has seemed to have been granted its wishes. A mild blizzard is making its debut on the east coast and this snow outside is only the beginning. Hundreds of schools have been closed and thousands of employees have been trapped within their homes, the snow barricading their doors. It looks like New York is going to be off the streets today…"_

"So we're all staying in today," Tony remarked, making Adelaide look away from the tv. He was in the kitchen, making himself his third cup of coffee of the morning. Adelaide glanced at the clock on the wall. Was it only 9:30? Suppressing a yawn, she pushed herself away from the window and headed into to kitchen to make a cup of coffee for herself. With extra, extra caffeine.

She had not slept at all last night. Not even for 10 minutes. Naturally, she felt exhausted this morning. She blamed Peter for it. If he hadn't...hadn't _kissed_ her then she would have been able to sleep just fine. It was all his fault.

 _But you kissed him back, didn't you?_

Adelaide let out a quiet sigh that Tony couldn't hear. Every time she thought about it, everything felt like a blur. One moment she was yelling at him and the next...the next she was...well…

Adelaide shook her head vigorously. Her stomach always began to feel funny every time she thought about _it_. She resisted the annoying urge to reach up to her tingling lips. The stubborn feeling would _not_ go away.

"How's your beta software?" Adelaide asked, wanting to stop thinking about _it_.

"Still beta," Tony answered with a sigh, "Pepper locked me out of the lab."

Adelaide turned around, raising an eyebrow. It suddenly made sense why he was on his third cup of coffee at 9:30 in the morning.

"Did you spend more than 15 hours in there again?"

Tony looked down at his coffee.

"20," he mumbled. Adelaide smirked.

"You know, I kind of liked it better when you were in there," she retorted.

"You sure know how to make a man feel important," he said sarcastically.

 _Soft, warm lips on hers...the taste of chocolate on his lips…_

Adelaide shook her head. No. She _had to stop_ thinking about it. She needed a distraction and fast.

"...don't worry, though. I'm still a pretty important man," Tony said. Adelaide hadn't realized that he was still talking. "Even though Pepper's the one who's in charge of everything."

 _That's it!_

"Is she in her room again? Working?" Adelaide asked.

"Yeah...why?" Tony asked. Adelaide grinned. The perfect distraction.

"Well, I just think that if _you_ aren't allowed to work in your lab, _she_ shouldn't be allowed to work from home either. _Especially_ on a snowy day like this…" she suggested. Slowly, a grin appeared on the billionaire's face.

"I like the way you think. Maybe those Stark genes really are floating in your direction," he said. Adelaide was too happy for a distraction to even roll her eyes.

"What if we cooked her lunch and forced her to come out of her room?" Adelaide suggested.

"We'll make Italian."

2 hours and many Italian curse words later, the ravioli was ready. Well, it wasn't _their_ ravioli exactly. For the first hour and half, everything was going fine until, well, Adelaide burned the sauce. Seeing that they didn't have any left, Tony resorted to just ordering from the nearest Italian restaurant that was still open.

After setting up the table, the two went down to Pepper's room to drag her outside to join the rest of the civilization. After a lot of (a _whole_ _lot_ ) of convincing, Pepper finally agreed to come outside. But only for 30 minutes. Little did she know, that the teenager and the billionaire had a whole evening planned for the three of them and she wouldn't be going back to her work for a while.

After a mediocre lunch (the only Italian place that still had delivery had a two star rating), they forced Pepper to watch a movie with them and the three of them settled onto the couch with one, big blanket to cover them.

They hadn't realized how dark it had gotten outside until the overhead lights switched on. Since neither Adelaide or the billionaire had slept the night before, they were out like lightbulbs well before bedtime. Once they were asleep, Pepper had decided to sneak back to her office but Tony's arm held her down with surprising force. In fact, Pepper almost thought that he was feigning sleep until she heard him snoring lightly. With a small smile, she decided that the work could wait and she settled back into the couch under Tony's arm while Adelaide was snuggled onto the billionaire's lap like a little girl.

While the icy wind continued to howl outside, the three of them drifted off into deep sleep, dreaming about work, robots, and a certain boy kissing her…

* * *

 _Adelaide_ _felt like she was being watched even though there was no one around for as far as she could see or hear. Somewhere in this warehouse there was a roof leak and the water was dripping steadily into the bucket underneath. Somehow, there were heaps of snow inside the warehouse as if someone had shoveled it all in. Shivering, Adelaide turned the corner, almost running into a stack of brown, wet boxes._

 _She let out a quiet curse under her breath. Why did it have to be so dark in here! She could barely see her hand in front of her face. And, more importantly, what the hell was she doing in this warehouse? And where were Tony and Pepper?_

 _Blindly walking through the building, Adelaide hoped for an exit to magically appear in front of her._

 _There it was again. The feeling that she was being watched. Holding her breath, she turned around slowly but there was nothing. Well, not that she could see much to begin with. Still, she grabbed a wrench off the table just to be safe._

 _Then, only a few minutes later, Adelaide thought she could hear footsteps. Her breath caught and she froze, tightening her grip on the wrench._

" _Who's there?" she shouted into the darkness._

 _Then, from the shadows, stepped out...a giant coconut? It looked down at her but it didn't have eyes. She wondered if that made it scarier or not. She decided it didn't matter because either way, there was a 10 foot tall coconut standing in front of her._

 _Adelaide took off, sprinting and dropping her only weapon. No number of wrenches were going to help her against a giant coconut who, she just realized, had started to run after her._

" _Wait! Wait!"_

 _Adelaide most definitely_ did not _wait and picked up her pace, seeing that it could_ talk _._

" _Ada! Wait!"_

 _Her feet stumbled and she almost lost her balance at the sound of her nickname. Only one person called her that. And it was_ not _a giant coconut._

" _Wait, Ada! Let me kiss you!"_

 _Adelaide almost fell over again as she tried to run even faster. Her feet were barely keeping up and she had no idea if she was about to run into a stack of boxes or maybe even another giant coconut._

" _Let me kiss youuuu!" the coconut shouted after her._

" _No!" she breathed, still running, "No! No!"_

Adelaide jerked awake, panting. Her throat felt raw and she blinked rapidly, trying to figure out where she was. She grabbed a handful of the blanket on her, the memories returning. She had fallen asleep on the couch. And there were no giant coconuts chasing her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she fell back onto the couch.

"Ow!" someone said just as her arm hit his head. She sat up, turning around. She hadn't even seen Tony sleeping next to her.

"Oops," she mumbled, "Sorry."

He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his face.

"God, what time is it?" he muttered, his eyes barely open.

" _It is 7:40 am, sir,"_ answered FRIDAY.

Adelaide threw her head back and closed her burning eyes. They had slept for 10 hours. That was more than they ever got.

"Thank God I don't have school today," she mumbled with her eyes still closed. Adelaide figured since they cancelled school because of the snow yesterday, it probably wasn't open today either.

 _Then I won't have to see_ him _._

For some reason, Adelaide couldn't decide how she felt about that.

" _Actually, Midtown High isn't closed today. The late bell rings at 8 am, in exactly 18 minutes. Should I inform Mr. Hogan to pull out the car?"_ FRIDAY said.

Adelaide let out a half-groan half-sigh. Maybe she would have to see him then. Great. Just great.

"I don't want to go," Adelaide said. Tony let out a breath, his eyes still closed.

"Then don't."

" _Sir, Miss Potts has informed me to ensure that you make Miss Rivers go to school day,"_ FRIDAY said.

"Of course she did," Adelaide mumbled. "And there's no way I can convince you to lie to her?"

" _I'm afraid not. My program has strictly forbidden me from telling any fibs."_

"This is all your fault," Adelaide told Tony, poking his ribs. He let out a sleepy grunt that sounded like the word _how_. Or maybe it was _ow_.

"Why couldn't you program your little AI to lie every once in a while?" Adelaide said.

"Because," Tony mumbled into the pillow, "when I'm in my suit, I like it when my AI tells me if I'm about to die. It's a nice heads up."

" _You have 15 minutes, Miss Rivers."_

Mumbling some _very_ colorful Russian words under her breath and letting out a very, very long and thorough sigh that informed Tony exactly how she felt about the honesty of the AI, Adelaide forced herself off of the couch and made her way to the bathroom to get dressed for school.

She childishly crossed her fingers, hoping _he_ wouldn't come to school today.

* * *

Apparently, crossing fingers didn't work nowadays.

If it weren't for the assigned seats in Chemistry, Adelaide would have chosen to sit on the opposite side of the room, as far away from him as she could. Unfortunately, she was sitting directly beside him and Mr. Danson was about to give them an assignment where they had to work in pairs.

"Now I want every pair to have a copy of the assignment. The instructions are on the back and fairly straightforward. We will work on this until the end of class. If you have any questions, I'll be at my desk," he informed. Instantly, everyone began working on the assignment while Adelaide took her time to dig through her backpack for a pencil even though she could see it at the top.

When it had been long enough, she pulled her pencil out with a sigh. Well, now there were no excuses. They had to talk. About the assignment, of course.

The only question was...who was going to start?

After about 5 minutes of totally awkward silence, Peter cleared his throat. There, that was a start. Adelaide looked anywhere in the room but him.

"I guess we should probably...um," Peter started, feeling his face heat up. Why was this so hard? They had talked before. Plenty of times.

 _And now you've kissed her, too._

No! Stop — thinking — about — _that!_ It didn't happen. He had just...happened to fall in a...compromising position, that's all.

 _If that's all it was, then why is your heart racing?_

His heart was most definitely _not_ racing. He scowled at himself, wondering why his inner voice wouldn't shut the hell up. It wasn't making things any easier.

"You get the measurements, I'll answer the questions," Adelaide said, internally wincing with each word. But it was a good idea. This way, they wouldn't have to talk.

Peter nodded eagerly, feeling the same way.

Both of them gave a quiet sigh of relief and got to work on their own thing, sitting as far apart from each other as the table would allow which wasn't much. They were both very, very aware of the three inches of space between them. Adelaide could almost feel her nerves tingling.

Peter started to take measurements of different liquids as it instructed on the assignment. He was almost done when he realized that he needed one more beaker to measure the last liquid. Without thinking, he stretched out his hand, pointing to the beaker sitting on Adelaide's side of the table.

"Can you pass that here?" he asked, momentarily forgetting the _Thing_ from yesterday. As if back into their natural rhythm, Adelaide grabbed the glass beaker without thinking and handed it to him.

It was when Peter to grab it, it happened.

Their fingers touched as Peter grabbed it and they both jerked their hands back almost as if it were a reflex. There was a loud _crash!_ and they both slowly looked down at the shattered beaker that was spread across the floor.

The whole class fell silent and everyone in the room turned around, craning their necks to see what had just happened.

Mr. Danson stood up from his desk, his expression looking as if he knew exactly what that sound meant. Peter and Adelaide glanced at each other as Mr. Danson marched to the back of the room. He looked enraged at the sight of the shattered beaker.

" _Who_ did this!" he shouted.

Peter and Adelaide avoided each other's gaze and Mr. Danson grew angrier.

"I asked _who_ did this!"

"M-Me it was me," Peter found himself saying, "I...I didn't grab the beaker and…"

Adelaide suddenly looked up, her eyes looking into his for the first time since yesterday. He was taking the blame for her. But why?

"I assume you understand that you will have to clean this mess?"

"Yes, Sir," Peter mumbled, getting out of his seat grab a broom. With a satisfied look and another glare at Adelaide, Mr. Danson marched back to the front of the classroom and everyone immediately went back to work.

Peter came back with the broom and silently began sweeping the floor. Adelaide watched him for a second, contemplating whether she should ask why he had just done that. Instead, she silently grabbed another broom and began cleaning the mess with him. Peter threw her a grateful look when she wasn't looking.

Neither of them of them knew what it was that they were feeling at the moment or how that feeling would soon control their lives. At the moment, the only thing they could think about was the heat of Mr. Danson's glare on the back of their heads and that was that.

* * *

Ned was noticing something peculiar about his friends: they hadn't said a word to each other all day. Not one. Heck, they hadn't even _looked_ at each other! Something was definitely wrong…

He wondered if it had anything to do with the apology Peter was supposed to make yesterday...that could be it. What if Peter said something wrong and made Adelaide even more mad? That was definitely a possibility, knowing Peter.

Ned sighed. He would just have to ask since neither of his friends looked too eager to tell him otherwise.

"Something happened," Michelle noted and Ned couldn't tell if she was talking to him or herself. Her voice was quiet enough so that only he could hear.

"They've been like this all day," Ned told her. Michelle narrowed her eyes at the two. Something was definitely up…

"It might help if we start a conversation and then see if they talk to each other," he suggested. Michelle shrugged and Ned took the action as a yes.

"The weather's nice," Ned commented, raising his voice so that Peter and Adelaide could hear him. They both glanced at his direction and then looked away.

"Which part?" said Michelle, "The freezing snow or icy wind?"

Ned sighed, feeling hopeless. Michelle wasn't the best at keeping up a conversation and it seemed that, today, neither were his two friends. It was no use. Neither Peter or Adelaide would say a word or even look in the other's direction. He was dying to know what had happened. Who was mad at who?

The moment the bell rang, Ned was onto Peter like an FBI agent on a case.

"What happened?" Ned asked. Peter's answer came quickly, as if he'd been preparing it all day.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Ned studied his face as they walked out of class together. Adelaide was already gone and Michelle had seemingly disappeared, as usual.

"Did you apologize to her?"

"Yes."

Ned waited for more, but Peter kept walking, looking straight ahead.

"And?"

Peter hesitated. Was Ada still mad at him? He had apologized before...before…

Had she...Was she mad at him for kissing her? Had she even forgiven him in the first place? Should he ask her?

"Peter?"

"What-oh sorry. I don't know yet," he answered.

"What do you mean?" Ned asked. How could Peter not know if Adelaide was still mad at him?

"She told me that she was um...thinking about it," he lied. Well, it wasn't too far from the truth. Adelaide definitely _was_ thinking about it.

Ned sighed, dropping his head.

"I hope you guys work things out," he mumbled. Peter glanced over at him, a heavy feeling settling over his chest.

"Me too," he said quietly.

* * *

At the Stark tower, Adelaide was doing everything she could to distract her mind. She tried watching ESPN with Tony but after spending an hour with Tony yelling at the players, she had had enough. As usual, Pepper was in her office, working.

Adelaide tried (really, she did) to get her out of the office and join the rest of humanity but the most she got was five minutes over a hot chocolate.

"So how's school going?" Pepper asked, stirring her hot chocolate/coffee. She never drank anything unless it had caffeine or booze. Now that she thought about it, Adelaide realized she wasn't much different. Though, the last alcoholic drink she had was a beer with Wanda months ago.

"It's...good," she mumbled.

"And math? Is Peter still helping you out with that? How is he, by the way? I haven't seen him in a while."

Adelaide refrained from groaning. The whole point of this conversation was to _avoid_ thinking about Peter.

"He's fine. He's great," she muttered.

 _Great at kissing…_

Adelaide's face contorted into an expression that was somewhere between pain and anger. Pepper seemed oblivious, glancing at her phone for notifications every half second.

"If you have to go, I understand," Adelaide said. This conversation was doing the opposite of helping her avoid thinking about Peter anyway. Pepper glanced at her, then at her phone, and the she sighed.

She tucked her phone away into the corner of the table and faced Adelaide again.

"No, sorry. I'm 100% here, I won't look at my—"

The phone lit up, ringing. Pepper picked it up.

"No, listen, Ronald. I told you Monday at _12:30_ not _1:20_ ," she barked into the phone. Adelaide sent out a silent prayer for Ronald before slipping out of the kitchen. Pepper barely noticed, too engrossed into her heated conversation with the man who had supposedly messed up her meeting.

Distracted and disoriented, Adelaide traipsed into her room.

When Peter kissed her...why did he do it? Did he...Could he…? No, no way. They were best friends. She was as close with him as she was with Ned. They were both her best friends. So then why was she so worried for Peter that night? And why didn't the kiss feel...wrong?

Adelaide reached up to tentatively touch her lips. If she closed her eyes, she could still remember the lingering feeling. Instead, Adelaide kept her eyes wide open. She would have to stop thinking about it. It was ruining their friendship. They uttered maybe 5 words to each other all day today.

Adelaide sighed, sinking into her bed. When had things become so complicated? She rolled over, clutching her pillow. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were. She missed Peter; she missed her best friend. Adelaide closed her eyes, involuntarily touching her lips.

Her heart gave a little jump and she opened her eyes again. Things would probably never be the same again.

She sat up, running her hands through her hair. She needed a distraction, something to get her to stop thinking about Peter.

Her eyes fell on her blinking laptop sitting atop her bedside table.

The video file! She had completely forgotten about it after Tony had pulled her into his lab.

In a second, she was logged into the computer and she plugged in the flash drive, anxiously waiting for it to upload the files. It seemed to take longer than usual. Once it was on, she quickly found the video file again and her father's face appeared on the screen. She clicked the play button without hesitation.

 _Her father looked at camera but it felt like he was looking straight at her. He looked...sad and tired. With a heavy sigh, he opened his mouth._

" _This isn't a video documentation for the project," he started. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face, looking as if he was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders._

Adelaide suddenly wanted to reach out and embrace him.

" _Ava and I have been working for this our whole lives. It's why we left SHIELD it's why we left behind everything we knew. We're ticking bombs, Dellie. Sooner or later, he's going to find us and he's not going to stop until he gets what he wants. Ava and I know that we couldn't fight him — we could only run. And that's we've been doing all these years. Until you came along, Dellie." He gave a tired smile that didn't quite reach his eyes._

" _Once we had you...we knew we couldn't keep running. You were this, small, little...baby. Most adorable thing I've ever seen. And that's not only because you look a whole lot like me. You were delicate."_

 _He took a deep breath, his smile fading away._

" _So we went into hiding. It was a temporary solution. We knew he would find us soon but we had a plan," he said and then he looked directly at the camera, "Project 1978. Our research was dangerous. If it ever got into the wrong hands — his hands — Ava and I would never be able to forgive ourselves. We had to get rid of all of the research and data and notes — everything. But it was our life's work." He paused for a moment, looking off into the distance._

" _So we created Project 1978. We decided to put our life's work into you, Dellie. Tomorrow, we're going to risk everything we know and everything we have. It's our only choice but maybe it's a big mistake. If things don't work out…" he stared at the camera, looking scared — terrified, "I am_ never _going to forgive myself. But if everything goes perfectly...at least we know that you'll be able to protect yourself, and that's all I can care about."_

 _He blinked, seemingly snapping out of his thoughts._

" _We just might be the worst parents in the world and I'm sorry for everything we've put you through. You deserve so much better, pumpkin. Tomorrow will decide our future and I hope that, somewhere in your heart, you can find a way to forgive us for everything."_

 _He looked down, collecting his thoughts. A tear fell onto the table. He looked up again, his eyes red and brimmed with more tears threatening to spill over. He gave a weak smile._

" _No matter what happens tomorrow — we will always love you, Dellie. Always."_

 _With one last deep breath, he reached over and switched off the camera._

Adelaide stared at the black screen, listening to the silence.

She sat there, frozen and unable to move for ten minutes.

Then, quickly stumbled out of the bed and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Gasping for air, Adelaide pushed herself against the wall. She clutched her stomach, shivering in cold sweat. She wiped her mouth with the back of her shaky hand, and leaned her head back against the wall.

She must have sat there for hours, shivering. When she finally went back into her room, it was dark outside. Her laptop was still in the same place she had left it. With shaky hands she picked up her laptop and placed it on her lap after she sat down.

Swallowing, she hit play and watched the video again. Twelve times until she had memorized every word and every action.

Sometime though the twelfth watch, she fell asleep, exhaustion taking over.

Her dreams we filled with thoughts about her parents and machines and Peter.

* * *

Sometime later, Pepper pushed open the door to the teenager's room, sticking her head inside.

She realized that Adelaide had fallen asleep with the lights on and laptop flipped open on her lap. With a small smile, Pepper walked over to the teenager. She carefully removed her hands from the laptop and then placed it on her bedside table, flipping it shut. She covered Adelaide with her blanket and gently moved her hair away from her face.

She gave her a light kiss on her forehead and turned around after one more lingering look. As she turned, Pepper realized Tony was standing at the door, watching them.

"Just like me, isn't she?" Tony asked, referring to the millions of times that he had fallen asleep with his laptop still in his hands. Pepper gave him a look.

"Unfortunately," she said.

"Come on," he said, playfully punching her arm, "she's got all the good Stark genes."

Pepper gave him a look.

"That's not how genes work."

"Okay, so maybe she's a little like you, too."

Pepper shook her head at the billionaire, a small smile forming on her face. A moment later, it was gone.

"What is it?" Tony asked. Pepper glanced at the teenager.

"I'm worried about her. She barely comes out of her room nowadays and she tried talking to me today but I just had so much work to do…"

"Don't worry about it, it's what teenagers do," Tony said. Pepper bit her tongue, refraining from reminding him that Adelaide wasn't any normal teenager. He knew. He knew very well.

"Have we found any more information about her parents yet?" Pepper asked. Tony avoided her gaze.

"You have been looking, right?" Pepper asked. Tony looked at her, his face filled with an emotion she had never seen before.

"She's hurting enough as it is," Tony said, "She's needs more time to figure things out before we dump information about her past onto her. She's still a kid, Pepper."

Pepper tried arguing against it, but she closed her mouth. Tony was right. No matter how hard she tried to prove to them that she could handle herself, she was still just a kid.

"You're right," she said, "it's dangerous."

Tony nodded silently and Pepper turned off the light.

* * *

 **A/N: So, what do ya'll think Project 1978 realllly is? Well, you guys don't have to keep guessing for much longer because our heroine has finally figured it out and you probably will too in the next chapter...**

 **Also! I just wanted to let you guys know that I really, really love reading your awesome reviews and they are very much appreciated! I love answering all of them so leave me a review with any questions or even just telling me what you liked about the chapter! I love hearing your thoughts!**

 _ **Question: What are your guesses about Project 1978 after reading this chapter?**_


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Look at me, I'm uploading and it's not 1 in the morning! Progress, I'd say. Anyway, GUESS WHO'S SEMESTER IS OVER! It's me :) My semester FINALLY ended and oh my god it's SUCH a relief. I literally did not realize how stressed I had been until I wasn't. It's such a good feeling :)))**

 **ANyway, so quick recap on the previous chapter since it's been a while. When was the last time I had uploaded? Gosh, I don't even remember. So last chapter, Peter and Adie were acting SUPER weird after the Thing and then there was a few Pepperony+Adie (what are we calling it lol) moments and then our favorite heroine FINALLY figured out what Project 1978 was and then you guys will found out what it is in this chapter in case you haven't already figured it out yet lol.**

 **After this chapter, things start to get VERY interesting...mhmm interesting indeed.**

 _ **Flufflymarshmallows: Ah, I missed your midnight reviews lol. Also, I CAN'T BELIEVE SHURI DIED TOO HOW IS EVERYONE GOING TO SURVIVE WITHOUT MY QUEEN SKSSKSK**_

 _ **lizlil: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! :)**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: I don't even know where to start! Thank you leaving so many wonderful reviews! I read each one and they just made my day! :) Also, I can't believe it d** **idn't occur to me to use Blue as a nickname for Adie! I'll be sure to use it a soon as I get a chance! Really great idea!**_

 **Thank you to: LoveGodLokiAndCaptianCold, Flufflymarshmallows, Thebookworm33, lizlil, and MissyMiahh for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH HOW AMAZING YOU GUYS ARE!**

* * *

 **"** _He_ _had_ _seen_ _enough."_

* * *

Adelaide hadn't been able to get Ned alone all day until lunch time when Peter went to use the bathroom and Michelle was conveniently not present.

Ned had been trying to get Adelaide alone too — to ask her what exactly had happened between her and Peter and why they weren't talking to each other still. But Adelaide was onto him faster than you could say Usain Bolt.

"Can you come to Tower after school?" she whispered, leaning across the table. Ned was taken aback for a moment and he stumbled to piece together what exactly was happening.

"Um, what?" was all that he managed to get out.

"The Tower. After school. Pay attention, will you?"

"But why?" he asked. He didn't like the serious tone in her voice. It meant that something was wrong and he didn't like it when something was wrong.

"I've got something to show you on the files. It's important," she answered. Ned shook his head.

"I can't — I've got a decathlon meeting," he said. Adelaide cursed under her breath in Russian. When Ned had hoped to learn Russian, he definitely didn't expect to start with words like _that_.

"What time is it at?" she asked.

"Um, 3:30," he answered and he watched as Adelaide did the calculations in her head.

"School ends at 3 so we can meet in the library after. You've got your laptop, right?"

"Erm, no, actually. My mom...took it away," he said sheepishly. Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do?"

"I was...playing video games after curfew," he mumbled. Adelaide sighed.

"We'll have to meet in the computer lab, then."

"But the files are on my laptop and it's locked in my mom's closet at home," Ned said, looking up. Suddenly, he gasped. "You're not going to break into my mom's closet, are you?!"

"What? No, Ned," she said, giving him an incredulous look. "I am not going to break into your mom's closet."

"Then how are you going to show me the files?" he asked, confused.

Adelaide dug into her pocket, closing her hand around the familiar flash drive.

"Don't worry about it," she told him. Ned studied her face for a moment and then his eyes went wide in realization.

"Adelaide, you can't carry the flash drive around! It's dangerous!" he said.

"Shh!" she said, looking around to make sure no one else had heard. "It's also dangerous to shout about it!"

"But —" Ned stopped suddenly, realizing that Peter was coming. Adelaide saw the look on Ned's face and understood without having to turn around.

"Three o'clock, after class," she whispered and Ned swallowed.

He had almost forgotten that this super secret spy stuff also came with the risk of getting caught. Almost.

* * *

Adelaide was just about to ready to sprint out of the classroom when the dismissal bell rang. It had been nearly _impossible_ to keep her mouth shut all day. How could she have? She had finally figured out what Project 1978 was! Well, maybe not all of it, not yet. She was kind of relying on Ned to fill her in on the missing information.

Since they had opened the files, they had divided them between each other. Adelaide got all of the video and journal documentations (since they were a bit more personal) and Ned got the research and data. He hadn't found anything very particularly interesting yet — rather, anything that made sense — but she hadn't had a chance to ask him about it for the past few days so she hoped that he had run across something useful since then. Maybe something that would piece with her theory on Project 1978 and then they would finally, _finally_ figure out what it really was.

Ned had promised Peter that they could both study for a bit in the library before their decathlon meeting (after all, Liz was going to be there), but now he was struggling to come up with an excuse so he could go to the computer lab with Adelaide. Adelaide, from the door, was giving him looks that were _not_ helping.

"Why not?" Peter asked when Ned told him he couldn't go to the library.

"Because...Because um, my algebra teacher wanted to see me after school," he said. Algebra was one of the only classes that he didn't have with Peter so he wouldn't question it.

"For half an hour?" Peter asked. Okay, maybe he would.

"Yeah...he...talks a lot," Ned said. Peter shrugged.

"Okay, well I'll just meet you in the auditorium," Peter said, shrugging.

"Y-Yeah, see you," Ned said. With one last look, Peter turned around and walked out of the classroom. As he passed Adelaide, she just stepped to the side without looking at him. She knew that if she looked at him she would start to feel that...that _feeling_ again and, right now, there were much more pressing matters that needed to be dealt with.

Speaking of…

"Come on, Ned!" she whispered-yelled. Seemingly snapping out of his thoughts, he shook his head and followed Adelaide down the hall to the computer lab. There were so many things that could go wrong...

For one, they weren't supposed to be inside without adult supervision. What if they got caught? They'd get in big trouble and Ned didn't want to get in big trouble.

As they approached the lab, Adelaide pulled the familiar tingling feeling to her fingertips and then she and Ned were invisible. Once they were inside the lab, they didn't have to worry about getting caught but they had to be careful now.

Ned turned to Adelaide to tell her that they should just wait but she wasn't there. He looked down. _He_ wasn't there either! Wait...did that mean...now way! _They were invisible_. He almost shouted out in happiness but stopped himself just in time.

"We're invisible!" he whispered. He couldn't tell exactly where she was or see her expression but he definitely could imagine it after hearing the tone of her voice.

" _Yes, Ned_ ," she whispered through gritted teeth, "and that's why we need to be _silent_."

"Oh. Right. Sorry," he said but he didn't feel one bit sorry. _HE WAS INVISIBLE!_ This was like the coolest thing that had ever, ever happened to him. Expect maybe — no, definitely not. This was by far the coolest thing _ever_.

Adelaide pulled out a bobby pin from her pocket and began picking the lock. A moment later, she heard a soft _click!_ and she pushed the door open.

"Go!" she whispered to invisible Ned. He stepped forward and bumped into Adelaide.

"Ow!" she whispered, "The other side!"

"Right, sorry," he whispered, stepping from the other side. This time, he didn't walk into any invisible girls and stepped into the computer lab. He looked around. The lights on here were off and turning them on probably wasn't a good idea.

He turned around just in time to see the door closing and Adelaide became visible again. Ned looked down. He was visible too. He kind of missed being invisible already. Before he could miss it too much, Adelaide dragged him to the nearest computer and shoved the flash drive into his hand.

"Hurry. We only have 25 minutes."

Ned quickly booted the computer on and plugged the flash drive in, wondering what on earth could be so important that Adelaide couldn't wait for a few hours to show him.

The computer loaded, taking its time. Adelaide wanted to yell at it, but she knew that wouldn't be the best idea so she settled for biting her tongue. After what seemed like hours, everything was finally loaded and the familiar software opened up on the screen. HYDRA's logo flash across the screen briefly. It still made Adelaide want to hurl into the nearest trash can every time.

The screen prompted for the password and Ned quickly typed it in. All the files began loading, one by one. Taking the mouse from his hands, Adelaide searched through the file until she found the one from last night. With a deep breath, she opened it up. Her father's face appeared on the screen.

"Is that…?" Ned asked. Adelaide nodded.

"That's my father," she said. The video started.

" _This isn't a video documentation for the project…"_

About two minutes later, Ned was blinking at a dark screen, confused to say the least.

"Was I supposed to...figure out something?" he asked.

"Not yet," she mumbled, already pulling up another file. This one gave the description of the subject that they had experimented on. Ned skimmed through it until his eyes caught on something.

"They experimented on a _5 year old?!_ " he said, raising his voice.

"Shh! You'll get us caught! And yes, Project 1978 was an experiment on a 5 year old," she told him. He was silent and Adelaide could see the gears spinning in his head. Finally, he turned to Adelaide.

"What does this mean?" he whispered. Adelaide met his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Don't you see, Ned? _I'm_ the 5 year old they experimented on."

There was pin-drop silence for what felt like hours. Ned just stared at her, opening and then closing his mouth repeatedly. Adelaide watched him carefully, worried he was going to pass out.

"Say something," she urged.

"How?" was all that came out. That was all the prompting that Adelaide needed to spill over everything that she had learned about Project 1978.

"Like the video said, they had left SHIELD because there was a man who was after them for what they knew. Then they went into hiding after I was born. No one knew where they were. They disappeared and not even SHIELD could find them again. They were in contact with no one and their main goal was to protect me. They sacrificed their lives and everything they had worked for — for _me_. _I'm Project 1979._ "

"Woah," said Ned, "I think I can take a guess on what the results of the experiment were...that means that the particle accelerator and all that research and that red glow thing —"

"Wait, what red glow thing?" Adelaide said, cutting him off.

"Oh, I was going to tell you. Last night, I was looking through the last few files and I ran across this follow-up that they had done on their energy —"

"Field?" she offered.

"Yeah, exactly. How do you know that?"

"It was in one of the files that I looked at. I couldn't figure out what it was, but I know that they used it to power the particle accelerator," she said. Ned nodded.

"Yeah, that's what the file said, too. Here, let me just show you," he said, already typing something into the computer. A minute later, he had pulled up another file that looked as if it was a page from her father's journal. Ned scrolled down to the bottom where there was a small sketch on one side and some calculations on the other.

Adelaide gasped when her eyes fell on the sketch. Quickly, she skimmed through the rest of the journal.

No way… _No way_ was that true.

"What is it?" Ned asked. Adelaide felt her mouth moving but no words came out.

"Ned, what else does it say about this power source?" she whispered. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Well, it said that it was really powerful...it had this red glow to it...oh, and strangely enough, they said that it almost acted as if it was alive — what is it, what's wrong?" he asked after seeing how her face had paled in the darkness. The glow in her eyes seemingly flickered.

"What is it, Adelaide?" he asked again, standing up to her height.

"Ned…" she whispered, her glowing eyes boring into his, "The energy source my parents used — _it was an infinity stone_."

* * *

Graves sighed, flipping his laptop shut. That was enough for today. In his opinion, it was enough for a lifetime, but, apparently, that son of a bitch Lukov thought differently. Now if _he_ had to pretend to be a high school coach...that would be a different story entirely. Graves chuckled to himself humorlessly, turning off the lights and locking up his office.

The school was quiet. He glanced down the hall and through the walls quickly before pulling out a cigarette from his inside coat pocket. He lit it up, closing his eyes at the familiar taste. Letting out a breath, he made his way down the hall, ready to get the hell out of this miserable place.

He was almost glad his half-conscious uncle had never sent him to one of these places back then. He probably would have ran away long before. His finger twitched at the thought of his uncle and a smirk crawled onto his face. His uncle was rightfully resting in peace, at the moment.

He was just passing by the computer lab when he heard the sounds. Voices. And not just any voice. Instantly, his good eye bored through the wall. His extended vision adjusted to the darkness inside the lab until it landed on a very familiar teenage girl with slightly glowing blue eyes. And...what was that? He narrowed his eye, stepping closer.

On the top corner of the computer screen was HYDRA's infamous mark. The skull based off the ancient monster from Greek mythology. There was another kid there, he realized. He remembered seeing him in one of his classes.

He stepped back, looking away and the wall became a barrier once again.

This was not good. Lukov was going to kill him if he found out. And the question was, how much did Rivers already know? What if she had already found out about...no, no way. He had to stop this now or he was a dead man walking.

Quicker than lightning, Graves was at the door, pushing it open. He pretended to be surprised.

"Rivers," he addressed, "what are you two doing in here during after school hours?"

From the corner of his eye, he saw the kid frantically close the software while Rivers tried to cover the screen.

Rivers glanced at the kid who evidently seemed panicked. Slowly, he turned his head towards the coach.

"We were...um...watching…porn," he mumbled. Rivers spinned around, But Graves couldn't see the expression on her face. He had to assume it was anger.

"...The two of you?" Graves asked. He saw Rivers' shoulders sagging as she let out a sigh. He didn't miss the fists she was making.

"Sorry... _sir_. It won't happen again," she said, her back to him.

"You'd better hope so," Graves said, enjoying this more than he should have. He knew this was a problem that he would have to fix as soon as possible. "Now, get out."

The two teenagers glanced at each other and then grabbed their stuff and shuffled out of the computer lab hurriedly without even sparing him one glance.

Glancing at the computer one last time, he stepped out and locked the door again. His jaw tightened.

He had seen enough.

* * *

When Adelaide got back to the Tower that afternoon, there was a surprise waiting for her. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even see the surprise until it called her.

"At this point, I think you're just ignoring me."

Adelaide paused, turning around to see none other than Wanda Maximoff sitting on the couch. Her face broke into a grin as she ran up to the witch.

"I'm not ignoring you," she said.

"Well, then you're not very good at noticing things," the witch remarked.

"Ha ha, very funny," she replied, settling onto the couch, "So what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't just come to visit?"

" _You_ wouldn't," Adelaide said, narrowing her eyes infinitesimally.

"You're right," the witch agreed, "I came here to ask you something."

Adelaide grew serious again. The last time they had met, she acted like she knew something and told Adelaide that she could trust her. And then not even a few minutes after she had left, Vision had sent her an email that helped her de-encrypt the files and finally open them.

"What is it?" Adelaide asked, almost whispering. She had a feeling she knew the answer already.

"Did you open them?" Wanda asked, referring to the files. Adelaide looked away.

"Yes."

"And? Did you learn anything?"

Adelaide didn't answer.

"Adelaide?"

"You can't tell anyone," Adelaide said and Wanda met her eyes, nodding. Adelaide took a deep breath and started. She told the witch everything from the her parents to the Infinity stone to the man who was after her parents. Adelaide figured the witch might be able to help her with the Infinity stone since she had gotten her powers from one herself. When she was finished, Wanda fell silent, the gears in her mind spinning. Adelaide's mind wandered as she waited for Wanda to say something.

Adelaide still wasn't sure if Coach Graves had seen anything they were doing. Ned had managed to close everything in time but...what if he saw what they had been doing? Would he even understand? In a hurry, Ned had snatched the flash drive and hid it in his pocket and Adelaide had forgotten to ask him for it back so she couldn't even show Wanda all of the files even if she wanted to.

"So your powers...come from an Infinity stone?" Wanda finally said. Adelaide nodded.

"And your parents experimented on you because they wanted you to be able to protect yourself from this man?"

Adelaide nodded once again.

"But we still don't know who this man is?"

Adelaide shook her head.

"And you think that he's the one who killed your parents?"

She nodded.

"But you still don't know anything about the past 13 years of your life?"

Adelaide let out a breath.

"No."

Wanda swallowed, thinking.

"That's rough," the witch said.

"That's putting it mildly," Adelaide mumbled.

"What color was the stone?" Wanda asked suddenly.

"Red," Adelaide replied immediately, "Which one is that?"

"From what Viz told me, that's the reality stone…"

Adelaide assumed that Viz was Vision. She didn't know that they were on a nickname basis...But then her thoughts were interrupted as Wanda's words settled in.

" _The reality stone?_ " Adelaide asked in disbelief. She quickly tried to recall what Thor had told her about the reality stone. It was definitely more powerful than her. She couldn't change reality itself. She could only create the illusion that she had.

"You what I think?" Wanda said, almost talking to herself.

"I don't have your powers," Adelaide said, "So no."

Wanda ignored the teenager.

"I think," the witch started, "that this man who killed your parents took you for your abilities. He had been after your parents for what they knew. Their research and data but once they put all of that in _you_ , it just made it that much easier for him."

Adelaide tried to take that information in. Of course. That had never occurred to her before. Her parents' intention for giving her these abilities was so she could protect herself. But those abilities became the reason he took her and killed her parents. It was the perfect plan. She felt her hand curling into a fist as she gritted her teeth.

Adelaide was _livid_.

She wanted that man's throat between her fingers and squeeze the life out of him. She wanted him to the feel the pain that she had – that her parents had. She wanted to torture until he was begging to die, until he couldn't take him anymore and then she wanted to hurt him more. She didn't just want to kill him. Oh no, he didn't deserve that. She wanted to _break_ him.

And she would, even if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

 **A/N: Woah I definitely don't wanna be on the wrong side of Adelaide's anger. SISTER SNAPPED. Anyway, so how cool is Project 1978, right? I mean her powers come from a freaking _INFINITY STONE!_ It doesn't get more cooler than that. **

_**Question: Um, I can't really think of one. What's your favorite thing about Adelaide? Have I already asked that one? I don't know lol. Just go with it, I guess. I'm too tired.**_


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Hey guys! An early merry Christmas to all of you in case we don't meet on Christmas day :) We don't really celebrate Christmas at my house but I wish we did since it's, like, my favorite holiday ever. And don't even get me started on Christmas carols. They're the best part about Christmas. Other than the presents, of course.**

 **So quick recap on the last chapter: Adie found out that her powers come from an infinity stone and you guys found out that Adie was Project 1978, Graves may or may not have seen what Adie and Ned were up to, and Adie spilled the beans to Wanda who made our heroine promise to keep her updated on what happens with the files. Unless I'm forgetting something (which, I probably am), I think that's about it.**

 **Now, about this chapter...well, let's just say you might want to read it sitting down ;)** **I'm not really sure what I want to do for the next chapter yet because there are so many storylines that I'm playing on right now and it's kinda hard to keep them all balanced sometimes. But I guess we'll see where this ends up going.**

 **Also, read the author's note at the end for a special little Christmasy surprise :)**

 _ **Thebookworm33: Haha I'm glad you liked the chapter! Although, I think there might be some slight confusion about Adie; her hair doesn't turn red so I'm not sure where you might have picked that up. When she's the Blue Phantom, her hair is basically a white bob (picture Nat from Infinity War). Other than that, it's pretty much a chocolate/chestnut brown. And I can't wait for Homecoming too because it's so centered around Adelaide and Peter's relationship, I love it! I'm going to stop talking about it so I don't spoil too much lol.**_

 **Thank you to: _Thebookworm33, HeartStarryNights, InsaneKids159, HikariTatami, and millimadde_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review in the previous chapter! Your constant support is so encouraging and it means a whole lot :)**

* * *

" _Do_ _you_ _know_ _another_ _Wanda?_ "

* * *

Wanda had to leave the next day but she made Adelaide promise to tell her everything that would happen. Adelaide promised, unknown to how situation was about to take a dark turn.

Adelaide was currently sitting in Algebra class, bored out of her mind. Other than the fact that her bladder was about to burst, there wasn't much else that she could concentrate on. Tapping her foot, she glanced at the clock on the wall. There was still 30 whole minutes left before she could leave. According to her bladder, she most certainly did _not_ have 30 minutes left to wait.

She raised her hand.

Mr. Hans glanced at her from above his glasses and then turned away. She frowned and raised her hand higher.

"...this is the formula used for a calculation such as this…"

Adelaide considered standing up on her desk to get his attention but she doubted that _that_ was the kind of attention she wanted. Instead she pushed her hand higher up in the air, waving it dramatically.

"...on the test, these formulas will not be available so please take a minute to memorize them…"

Adelaide's frown deepened. He was purposefully ignoring her. But why?

 _Maybe because the last time you contributed to the conversation in this class, he had to escort you to the main office._

Okay, maybe he was ignoring her for a good reason. But she had a good reason to get his attention, too. If she didn't leave now, she couldn't promise to take responsibility for what happened after.

"...so as you can see on this graph here—"

"Mr. Hans!" she blurted. She could hear him sigh deeply before he turned around. There was some kind of expression on his face. Was it... _pain_?

" _Yes_ , Miss Rivers," he said cooly. She realized the whole class was staring at her. She lowered her hand.

"Can I use the restroom?" she asked as sweetly as she could manage. He looked happy to get rid of her for the next 5 minutes and agreed. Adelaide practically ran out of the classroom and down the hall to the nearest restroom. She didn't know how much longer she was going to be able to hold it in.

As she was turning the corner at full speed, she realized her shoelaces were untied. Before she could stop herself, she tripped on them just as she turned the corner and ran into someone, tumbling on top of them.

"Mfbl!" she said, getting a mouthful of their jacket. She hastily pushed herself back, trying to see who she had fallen on top of.

Adelaide felt her face temperature raise about a 1000 degrees when her eyes landed on Peter's face not too far from her own. His chocolate brown eyes bore into her blue ones. For one agonizingly long moment, Adelaide had trouble looking away from his lips. Then, she blinked, realizing that he was still under her and she was practically sitting on his lap.

Quickly, she scrambled up, swallowing. Her face felt embarrassingly red. A moment later, Peter hurried up, straightening his jacket and hair and avoiding eye contact with her.

 _What was_ that _?_

The question seemed to be ringing in both of their ears as they looked anywhere but each other. Adelaide stole a glance at him, noticing how flushed his face looked.

"Sorry about that…" she said, her voice slightly out of breath. She convinced herself that it was because she had been running.

"Don't worry about it," he managed to say, "It was...um, it was my fault."

Adelaide wanted to explain to him that it was her fault because she was the one who had been running, but the words were seemingly stuck in her throat. Instead, she nodded.

"Well...bye, I guess," she said, staring at her hoodie strings.

"Yeah...uh, bye," he said, beginning to walk away.

Adelaide stood there for a moment longer after he disappeared around the corner until her bladder reminded her why she was out here in the first place and she hurried to the bathroom.

* * *

Adelaide was sitting on the bleachers in the gym, staring at the wall across the room. Her gaze was distant and her mind completely elsewhere, distracted.

All night long, Adelaide had wondered about who the man who killed her parents could be. All she needed was some kind of identification. Even the color of his hair could tell her something. But, in the same way it had been for the past year, her memories were nonexistent. There was nothing that she could remember — not even one measly detail. How was that possible?

And then there was the thing about the infinity stone. Had her powers really come from one of the most powerful things in the universe? How could her mundane form hold that much power? She was a human and human bodies had limits. Comparatively speaking, the human form was weak. Take Vision for example. He could hold an infinity stone on his forehead. But he wasn't human. According to Thor, humans were too weak to even touch an infinity stone.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Ned sitting down next to her.

"Hey," he said gently. She gave him a small smile.

"Hi."

"Find anything else?" he asked, referring to the files. Their conversation had been halted yesterday when Coach Graves had decided to walk in. She still hadn't had a chance to scold Ned for the porn lie that he told but she figured that it could wait.

"No," she mumbled, her shoulders sagging, "Wanda was over yester—"

"As in the _scarlet witch_?" Ned breathed.

"Do you know another Wanda?" she asked. Ned grinned.

"Sorry," he said, not looking very sorry.

"I told her everything and she told me that the stone we saw was the reality stone."

"I've read about that one somewhere online. After I showed it to you yesterday, I did a little research," he said. Suddenly, his widened to the size of saucers. " _You can manipulate reality?!_ "

"No," she said, "Just create the illusion that I can."

Ned deflated.

"But based on what I read yesterday, infinity stones are too powerful for humans to touch them," he said. Adelaide nodded.

"I know."

"So how did your parents…"

"What if I didn't touch the stone?" she said suddenly.

"What?" Ned asked, confused.

"What if they just used the energy from the stone to power the accelerator but I never came in contact with it?"

Ned nodded slowly, the gears in his head spinning quickly.

"That would explain why your powers are limited…" he said. She nodded again.

"But Wanda told me something else, too," Adelaide said, tightening her jaw.

"What?"

"The man who killed my parents, the one who was after their research on photon energy, the one who my parents were protecting me from, the man who is the reason my parents had to experiment on their five year old daughter — instead of protecting me, my powers are the reason that man killed my parents."

"I don't understand..." he said with a slight shake of his head.

"When my parents put all of their research into me, it made it easier for him to get his hands on what he wanted. It was all in one place: me."

Realization dawned on Ned's face.

" _Oh_ ," he said, "Wait so you think that this whole thing is your — it's not your fault, Adelaide!"

"Maybe not," she said, staring at the ground, "But then why do I feel like it is?"

"Adelaide, you were _five years old_. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. You didn't even know there was a man who was after your parents!"

She sighed, feeling a headache coming. She dropped her head into her hands.

"I know, I know. I just...I wish I could do _something_. I want to find the man who...who killed my parents and make him pay."

Suddenly, an old memory flash in her mind.

 _Our daughter will avenge us_.

"Here," Ned said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out her flash drive and held it out to her. "Look through this again. All of the files. See if you can find anything about that man. And I'll look too."

Adelaide blinked at the little black flash drive in his hand for a moment. Then she took it, closing her hand around it into a tight fist.

"What if there's nothing in here?" she asked, not sure if there even was an answer to that question, "We've already looked through it once."

Ned looked at her. Adelaide was suddenly very grateful he was here with her — she could have never done this on her own.

"We'll cross that bridge once we get to it."

* * *

Adelaide twisted the flash drive around in her hand, staring at it closely. It amazed her how something so small held her entire life. She had become so dependent on it over the past few weeks.

"Hot chocolate?"

A mug of hot chocolate appeared in front of her and Adelaide looked up to see Pepper smiling down at her. She dropped the flash drive into her lap, taking the mug from her hands.

"Thanks," she mumbled, enveloping the warmth from the mug. She took a sip, realizing how much she needed it. "Is this...dark chocolate?"

"Of course," Pepper said, settling down on the couch across from her.

Silence settled between them for a moment as they enjoyed their hot chocolates. They could hear Tony yelling at his bots from the lab.

"So how's school going?" Pepper asked, breaking the silence. Adelaide took her time to answer.

"It's fine," she said. Pepper eyed the teenager. The whole reason she had put aside all of her work and business was so she could sit down and talk to Adelaide. She had been pretty distant lately.

They were silent again for a while.

"I ran into Wanda yesterday," Pepper said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Adelaide nodded.

"She came over," Adelaide said distractedly. Her mind was still spinning with questions. Pepper sighed. This was going nowhere.

"Adelaide...is something wrong?" she finally asked. The teenager looked up, surprised at the question.

"No," she said, "Why?"

"I think you know why," Pepper said, tilting her head, "You've been so...distracted lately. You can tell me if something's going on. You know that, right?"

Adelaide looked away.

"Yeah, I know and I will tell you if there's anything, I promise," she lied. Pepper held back a reply. She knew the teenager was holding back, but pushing her to tell wasn't going to work. She stood up, deciding that Adelaide would tell her whenever she was ready.

"I'm going to hold you to your promise," she said. Adelaide looked at her again, the corner of her lips tugging upwards.

"I know," she said. With a ruffle of the teenager's hair, Pepper went back to her work, leaving Adelaide alone with her thoughts once again.

Now, a new question had planted itself into her mind: should she tell Pepper and Tony the truth?

* * *

Peter pushed open the door to his house, letting himself in. May always left it open for him.

"Aunt May, Uncle Ben, I'm home!" he shouted, making his presence known.

"In the kitchen!" he heard May shout back. Kicking off his shoes, he shrugged off his coat and hung it on the coat rack. When he walked into the kitchen, a delicious smell wafted to the teenager's nose.

"What's cooking?" he asked Uncle Ben who was currently standing by the stove in his _I_ _Heart Cooking_ apron, handling three pots at once. Ben lifted the wooden spoon in his hand up to his mouth, tasting the food. He let out a satisfied hum.

"Dinner," he answered, a smile on his face.

"What country is it from today?" Peter asked, grabbing a cherry tomato off of the table and popping it in his mouth.

"He's making Italian," May said. She was currently sitting at the island, chopping onions with tears streaming down her face. Peter offered her a tissue which she took gratefully. He then sauntered over to the stove to peek over Uncle Ben's shoulder. His mouth watered at the sight.

"That looks amazing," he said. Uncle Ben looked over at his nephew, grinning. Peter reached out to swipe some sauce on his finger for a taste when Ben smacked his hand away.

"You're going to have to wait," he said. Peter frowned.

"Have you got any homework?" May asked, sniffling. She was now crushing peppercorns. Peter almost felt bad for her but then he remembered the last time May had tried to cook anything by the stove and he shuddered. He didn't know what he'd do without Uncle Ben's amazing cooking. Probably eat instant noodles all the time. Or takeout.

"A little," he admitted. May gave him a pointed look.

"Well you better get to it. It's almost dinnertime," she said. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek before grabbing his backpack off of the floor and swinging it over his shoulder.

"Yes ma'am," he said with a mock salute and he made his way to his room. On his way upstairs, his eyes fell on the newspaper sitting on the coffee table in the living room. It wasn't the newspaper itself that had caught his eye...no, it was the big sum of money written on the front page.

He picked it up, reading it.

 _Want to win 2,000 dollars in one night? Join us here and fight for your money! Earn your name! Become famous! Be the person everyone's afraid of._

Peter felt a grin coming onto his face. He could make 2,000 dollars! He'd become famous! That's just what he needed for his new abilities. He needed a stage to show them off and make his name famous. And all he had to do was fight. He could do that, it was easy. He'd already beat ten Flash, how hard could this be?

But he couldn't use his real name...he'd need an alias. Something scary...intimidating...something that showed how powerful he was. And he would need a costume, too. Something to cover his face…His mind was swirling with new ideas.

"Are you going, Peter?" May shouted. Startled, he almost dropped the newspaper until he realized that she was talking about doing homework and not a cage fight. Quickly, he folded up the newspaper and stuffed it into his backpack.

"Yeah, I'm going!"

* * *

Adelaide grumbled, scribbling her pencil across the paper. The lead threatened to break and she glared at it.

"You wanna make this harder for me, too?" she grumbled. With an angry sigh, she shook her head. She was talking to a pencil. A _pencil_. What was wrong with her? Mumbling angrily, she began scribbling again.

 _You could always ask for help…_

Her jaw tightened at the thought. No. She was _not_ going to ask for help. Especially not after...No, she was going to figure it out on her own. How hard could it be?

She glanced down at the paper in front of her and the numbers began swirling almost teasingly.

 _Admit it, you need help._

No! She - did - _not_ \- need - help! Especially not from _him_! She'd rather die than ask him for help after...after…

Adelaide looked down at her math homework angrily. No matter how confident she pretended to be, she was never going to figure this out on her own. But there was absolutely _no way_ she was going to ask Peter for help. It was too embarrassing.

But...she could ask Tony…

Quickly, she discarded the idea. She had tried it, once. It had been a complete nightmare. He kept talking and she couldn't understand a word coming from his mouth. He was like a robot, reading from some webpage. She needed a _human_.

There was Pepper, but she had been a little busier than usual since the holidays were right around the corner and the stock market was doing jumping jacks. She had enough on her plate already. Adelaide's mind drifted over to Happy. She shook her head quickly. He hated math as much as she did — even more, if that was possible. He would run away from like she was some kind of virus. An arithmetic virus.

She slumped against her headboard, letting out a sigh. She was back to Peter. Whether she liked to admit it or not, he really knew how to help her. He taught it right way, said the right things. He just...knew.

Biting her lip, she picked up her phone. She flipped it around in her hand, unconsciously stalling.

Should she call him? Maybe not...but…

Why was this so hard? It was just Peter Parker, not the queen of England. He was her friend...right? Were they still friends? Do people stay friends even after they...Adelaide was the last person on earth to know the answer to that question. She had no experience in dating whatsoever.

Wait... _dating_? No, no, no, _no_. One little kiss didn't mean that he wanted to _date_ her...did it? No, no way. It had probably been an accident. Maybe he had slipped and accidentally kissed her. The floor had been a little slippery…

But...that kiss hadn't felt like an accident or a mistake. It had been real. Very, very real. Which brought her back to her original question: should she call him?

Adelaide glanced at her phone, biting her lip. Her thumb hovered over Peter's contact number.

If she wanted things to go back to normal between them, then they would have to start pretending that nothing had gone wrong in the first place. And asking Peter to help her with her math homework would be the perfect way to do that.

Taking a deep breath, she tapped on Peter's contact and held the phone up to her ear.

" _Hello?"_

Adelaide swallowed. She had been so worried about calling him, she hadn't planned on how to ask.

"Hey...are you busy right now? I can call later if you want, it's not really an emergency and I under-"

" _I'm not busy, what do you need?"_ came his answer.

"Well, I, um...I kind of needed help with my math homework."

There was silence on the other end for a moment and Adelaide held her breath. It was so quiet she could hear the clock in his room ticking softly.

" _Right now?"_ he finally said.

"No, no, of course not," she answered quickly, "I was thinking this Friday...at the public library." Adelaide made sure to emphasize that the library was public and that there would be other people there and not just the two of them, alone. Peter seemed to understand the meaning.

" _Sure,"_ he said, " _An hour after school?"_

Adelaide nodded. "Yeah."

" _Well, um, see you then,"_ he said.

"Yeah...bye," she said, hanging up. Adelaide tossed her phone to the side, slumping against the headboard again. She let out a relieved breath.

Who knew talking on the phone could be so hard?

Just as she had closed her eyes, her phone rang again. In a heartbeat, she was sitting up, reaching for her phone. Was Peter calling her?

When she saw who was actually calling her, her face fell. It wasn't Peter. It was Wanda. Instantly, the gears in her mind were spinning. What could Wanda be calling her for? It was probably something important. She pressed the green button, holding the phone up to her ear.

"Hey," she greeted.

" _I wanted to check in on the situation for those files,"_ she said, getting straight to the point, " _Have you found anything new?"_

"No, I haven't really had a chance to look yet," she said.

" _Haven't had a chance? Adelaide, what on earth could possibly be more important than this?"_

"Uh...my math homework?" she answered, wincing. It wasn't necessarily more important, but it was what she had been doing for the past hour.

" _You're joking,"_ the witch said. Adelaide glanced down at the angry scribbles on her math assignment.

"Not really, no."

" _Well put that aside and look at the files!"_ she said, " _Call me as soon as you find anything. I'll get Viz updated too."_

"Okay, okay. I'll look at them now," Adelaide answered and then the line went dead. She put her phone aside and pulled the flash drive from her backpack. She flipped open her laptop which she always kept on her bedside table and plugged it in, waiting for the prompt. When the system asked for the password, she quickly typed it in.

For some reason, Adelaide had a strange feeling as she watched the screen load. She realized her heart was beating a little faster and her palms were sweating. Why was she feeling nervous? She swallowed, clearing her throat.

Finally, the system loaded. Adelaide's heart stopped as she took it in.

Instead of displaying the files, there was a completely white screen. And in the center were two words written in a bleeding red color that made her own blood turn cold.

 _Stop looking._

* * *

 **A/N: Who remembers where they've heard that last sentence before? *smirk smirk***

 **Anyway, so a little Christmas thing I wanted to do was a Q &A for this story! So basically, you guys can leave me reviews with as many questions as you want about this story, the characters, the plot, and even me! And in a week (which will be next Friday), I'll try to answer as many as I can! I'm super excited about it and I can't wait to hear all of the questions! **


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: MERRYYY CHRISTMASSS YOU GUYSSS! A special chapter on Christmas, just because ya'll are awesome :) (sorry its a bit short)**

 **I unfortunately don't have time for special thank yous because my phone is glitching big time :(**

* * *

" _Breathe."_

* * *

Adelaide stared at the message, wondering if she was seeing things. When it didn't go away, she began to fully panic. The air in her lungs was the first to go as she scrambled away from the laptop as quickly as she could.

Her hands flew up to cover her mouth as she tried to breathe. She unconsciously began pacing the room, her eyes never leaving the laptop. She was worrying that the laptop would explode somehow. Slowly, her mind began working again.

What if it was just a glitch?

She shook her head. No, there was no way this was a glitch. Those words...she had seen them before. This wasn't a mistake. It was a threat, a warning. Her last chance to step away from all of this.

She suddenly stopped pacing and her eyes wandered over to her phone laying on her bed. In a flash, she had crossed the distance in the room and turned on her phone. With her heart thumping quickly in her chest, she dialed Ned's number and held the phone up to her ear. She listened to her uneven breathing as she anxiously waited for him to pick up.

" _Adelaide I –"_

"Ned, listen to me," she said, her voice shaking, "Are you on your laptop right now?"

" _Yeah, but –"_

"Log out, shut it down, clear the hard drive, oh God, I don't know," she breathed, swallowing painfully, "Just do what you need to do to get your laptop off the grid right now."

She was scared. Not for herself, but for Ned. The Stark Tower had cutting-edge maximum security but Ned was completely out in the open right now. She needed to know that he was safe.

" _Hey, hey, Adelaide – breathe,"_ he said.

"No, you don't understand –"

" _Breathe_."

She took in a shaky breath. A knot formed in her throat and her eyes began to sting. No, no, no. She was _not_ going to cry. She had this under control.

" _Okay now tell me what your screen says."_

"It says...stop looking," she said. The words had burned themselves into her brain. She knew them well. Too well.

" _Yeah, my screen says that too,"_ he said. Adelaide could hear him typing something into the computer. " _Hold on a second…"_

Adelaide began pacing the room again, folding her arms around herself. The last time she had seen that message was during a murder investigation. And now it was on her laptop and Ned's. Could that mean…?

" _Shit,"_ muttered Ned suddenly. Adelaide's grip on her phone tightened and she stopped pacing, almost too scared to move.

"What is it?" she whispered, her heartbeat speeding up once again, "What is it, Ned?"

" _Adelaide…"_

"Spit it out!"

" _...all the files are gone."_

* * *

"Adelaide? Adelaide, hey."

The teenager tore her eyes away from the blank wall, realizing that Pepper was standing next to her, worry etched onto her face.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked, starting to look concerned. Adelaide looked down, nodding. Pepper sat down next to her on the bed.

"You didn't come down for dinner last night and you haven't eaten anything all day today," the woman said. Adelaide stayed silent, still staring at the space on the wall. Outside, the sun was starting to set, marking exactly one day since the files had gone.

"I'm not hungry," she answered monotonously. She had barely used her voice since yesterday.

"Adelaide...you didn't even go to school today. What's wrong?" Pepper asked softly. Her hand found the teenager's and she gave it a soft and encouraging squeeze.

"Come on, you can talk to me," Pepper said. Adelaide stayed silent. She couldn't tell Pepper and Tony. Not after what happened last night. She had already put Ned's life in danger enough times. This was the last straw. She had made her decision. She was going to figure the rest out on her own without help from anyone else. This...thing was bigger than she realized. It was a bad idea to get Ned involved with HYDRA in the first place. Asking him to continue searching with her would be asking too much. This was something she would have to do on her own.

"I just...I think I have a stomach bug," she lied, pretending to wince in pain. Pepper sat up, facing the teenager.

"How long have you had it?"

"Last night," she lied again.

"Well, why didn't you tell me!" Pepper said, standing up, "I'll go get the medicine right now, just stay here –"

"No, that's okay," Adelaide said, stopping her, "I feel much better now. I think it'll be gone by tomorrow."

Pepper stopped, studying the teenager's face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said, forcing a smile. Pepper didn't look completely convinced but Adelaide could see that it was working.

"Okay...if you say so...I'll make you some soup and you're gonna have to finish all of it, no excuses, okay?"

Adelaide nodded, "Okay."

"I'll be right back," Pepper said, letting go of the teenager's hand. As soon as she was out of the room, Adelaide let out a breath.

At least she had gotten better at lying.

* * *

"The acceleration of variable A causes the deceleration of variable B. Now who can tell me what the constant proportion between these two variables is? Miss Rivers?"

The whole class turned around to see the blue-eyed teenager sitting behind her desk, absentmindedly staring at a spot on the tiled floor.

"Miss Rivers?"

Ned glanced at his friend who hadn't seemed to hear her name being called. He tapped her shoulder and she jumped up in her seat, suddenly alert.

"Miss Rivers," said Mr. Hans, "this is your final warning to pay attention in my class or I will have to arrange after school lessons for you. Are we clear?"

Adelaide nodded, barely hearing what he had said.

"Yes, sir. It won't happen again," she said quietly, her eyes still on the floor. Satisfied with her answer, Mr. Hans turned around once again.

"Now who can tell me…"

Adelaide drowned the sound of his voice out again as she fell into her thoughts. If it was up to her, she wouldn't have even come to school today. She had only come to convince Pepper that she was fine. The last thing she needed was for Pepper to sense that something was off.

Adelaide had trouble concentrating on anything. Her mind always wandered back to the files. She had stayed up all night last night, scrounging details from her mind about the files. In a small journal she had found in her desk, she had scribbled down any information that she could remember. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Now that she knew what Project 1978 was, she wanted to find the man who killed her parents. He was her best bet and she had a feeling he would know very well where she had been for the past 13 years.

The only problem was, she had nothing to go on. There was no image or description of him that could help her find him. He was invisible. Even if she wanted to trace him, she had no idea where to begin.

"...don't forget, we have the chapter test tomorrow," Mr. Hans said as the bell rang. The class hurried out of the classroom, leaving Adelaide and Ned behind.

"Miss Rivers," Mr. Hans said, catching her attention, "A word?"

Adelaide glanced at Ned and gave him a small nod. He grabbed his backpack and left the classroom. Adelaide knew he would be waiting right outside.

Mr. Hans took off his glasses, sighing.

"I notice that you've been a bit more distracted than usual today. Is something wrong?" he asked. Adelaide looked up at him in surprise. Maybe he wasn't heartless after all.

"No, sir, everything is fine," she answered, knowing that was probably what he wanted to hear.

"If you say so…" he said, watching her carefully, "Don't forget to study for the test tomorrow, I expect to see significant improvement from your previous test."

And he was back again.

"Of course, sir," she answered obediently.

"You are dismissed."

Adelaide turned around and headed towards the door.

"Miss Rivers?" he said suddenly, stopping her. She turned around. "Be careful. The roads are very slippery today."

She nodded and left the room. The roads weren't the only thing that she would have to be careful of. The moment she closed the door behind herself, Ned was on to her.

"What did he want?" he asked. Adelaide shrugged an began walking towards the gym.

"He just told me to study for the test tomorrow," she answered.

"Oh," Ned said, "That's it? He wasn't angry at you for not paying attention?"

"Not really," she answered. Ned studied her for a second. Her usually-bright eyes were dimmer and he could see dark circles starting to form. She even looked slightly pale under her tan skin.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, "After...you know."

"I'm fine," she said. She stole a glance at him. "In fact, I've decided to stop searching for answers."

Ned whipped his head to look at her.

"What! Adelaide, you can't just...just…"

"Give up?"

"Yes!"

"Well I am and you should too."

"But...but _why?_ "

Adelaide hadn't told him where she had seen those two words before. She figured that he already knew enough information to be in danger, he didn't need to know more.

"Because, Ned," she said as they turned the corner, "The files are gone and there's no place else to look. It's over."

She said it so convincingly, she almost believed it herself. But deep down, she knew that nothing could stop her from searching. Not even those two words that sent chills down her spine.

"But don't you want to find out what happened to your parents?"

Adelaide stopped walking and turned to face him.

"My parents are dead. The files are gone. It's time to give up," she said, her face hot, "And you should too, if you know what's good for you."

Ned studied her face for a moment. He couldn't tell if she was lying. Could she really mean it? Did she really want to stop looking?

"Promise me, Ned," she said, "Promise me that you will stop looking."

He stayed silent, the gears in his mind spinning fast. The look on her face was genuine. She was worried. Somehow, those two words from that night had scared her. But she was the Blue Phantom. She had seen more dangerous things, how could she let something like a this – a small setback – keep her from searching. It didn't make any sense. Unless...Unless she was only doing it to keep him safe. She had said that to him many times before. Maybe this time it was the same reason.

"I will promise you...as long as you promise me the same," he said. Adelaide tried to keep any expression from showing on her face.

She set her lips into a thin line and crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Fine," she said, tightening her crossed fingers, "I promise."

Ned hesitated for a moment. Then, "I promise too."

* * *

Peter was leaning against the lockers, waiting for his next class, having arrived early. He checked his watch, frowning. Where were Ned and Ada? They should be here by now. They were about to be late.

In fact, now that he thought about it, he barely saw them anymore. He only met them in class and they hardly spoke to him. They were always whispering something as if they didn't want him to find out.

Could they really be…? No, no. Ada had definitely convinced him that she wasn't dating his best friend behind his back. But if that wasn't what they were hiding, then what was it?

"Hey Parker, did your friends finally realize how lame you are?"

Peter knew who it was without turning to look. He just ignored him, hoping he would go away on his own.

"I was talking to you, Parker," Flash said, punching his arm. Peter reflexively backed away, tightening his jaw. He wasn't going to start a fight.

"And I was ignoring you," Peter said. Flash was like an annoying fruit fly, buzzing around in your face.

"I asked you a question," Flash said, punching his arm again.

"Stop it," Peter scowled. Flash smirked, knowing that he was getting to him.

"Stop what? This?" He punched his arm again. People who were watching the two of them began snickering and Peter felt his face turn red. His hand itched to throw a fist into Flash's face, but he knew it wouldn't be the best idea. Last time he had gotten in a fight, Ben and May had gotten super worried and angry. Besides, he was saving his energy for the cage fight today. Although, he could use a little practice…

"Stop it, Flash," Peter growled. Flash laughed. There was a small crowd formed around them now and people were watching as Peter continued to step away from Flash. He felt his face getting hotter from embarrassment.

"Or what? You're going to get your little girlfriend to come fight me for you again?" Flash teased and everyone laughed.

Peter felt his hand turning into a fist. He couldn't tell if his heart was beating faster because he was angry or because Flash had called Ada his girlfriend.

"I told you," Peter said, "to stop." His super sense was all over the place and his fist inched closer to Flash's face.

"I can wait, you know," Flash smirked, "Until your girlfriend gets here and then I can beat the cockiness out of that thick head of hers."

Flash didn't see it coming until Peter's fist had landed next to his nose, missing just by a couple of inches. Flash pulled his fist back and punched Peter's shoulder who dodged it just in time. Flash wasn't so lucky when Peter came for him again. He knocked the bully off of his feet and they both wrestled on the floor.

"What's...the matter with...you!" Flash grunted.

Peter wrestled him over, trying to land another punch on his annoyingly cocky face.

"Don't," Peter growled, "insult my friends - again!"

" _Boys!_ " an authoritative voice shouted and the two teenagers stopped fighting instantly, pushing themselves off of each other.

Peter stumbled up, brushing his jacket off casually. He was heaving with anger. This was so unlike him. Why did Flash's words make him so angry suddenly? Ada was a big girl, she could handle her own bully. Then why did Peter feel the need to defend her name?

"Both of you! To the main office! _Now!_ " their teacher shouted.

Flash and Peter both shot each other an accusing glare before following her down the hall to the principal's office.

What had gotten into him?

* * *

Sometime later that afternoon after school had let out, Wanda had called her. Adelaide conveyed the information about the flash drive to her and Vision looked into it. He said that the message came from an external source that he couldn't identify or trace. Adelaide made them promise the same thing that she had made Ned promise. Very reluctantly, the two agreed. Adelaide could only hope that they hadn't been crossing their fingers.

That afternoon, she was supposed to meet with Peter in the library. She still had a little less than an hour before she was supposed to so she pulled out her laptop.

As she reached for her laptop, her eyes fell on the little black flash drive sitting next to it. She picked it up into her hand. It was useless now. She imagined that there was probably a virus on there now and if she plugged it into her laptop again, the screen wouldn't be left even capable enough to display those two words. There was nothing on this flash drive that she could use anymore.

With a sigh, she pulled her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She dragged her feet over to the bathroom and pushed the door open, flipping the light on.

She held the flash drive with her fingertips over the toilet. Taking a deep breath, she let go of the flash drive, watching it splash into the toilet bowl. Her eyes never leaving the flash drive, she flushed the toilet and watched the water spin, taking the flash drive down with it.

Somehow, Adelaide still didn't feel safe.

* * *

 **A/N: Not much of an author's note cuz it's like almost twelve am and my phone is glitching like crazy**

 ** _Question: What did you get for Christmas?_**


	34. Q&A

**A/N: Hey guys! So as I promised last week, I wanted to do something a little special for Christmas and I've always wanted to do a Q &A so here it is! I might have mentioned this before, but I publish my fanfiction on multiple platforms so when I asked people to submit questions, I just decided to combine them into one Q&A. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Q&A

1\. How old are you?

I think this was one of the questions I asked you guys in an author's note a few chapters ago and your guesses were pretty close! Anyway, to answer the question, I recently turned seventeen.

2\. Will we get to see some sort of friendship between Shuri and Adie?

Ooooh I like that idea. I hadn't really planned on it but I think it's definitely something I'll try to work on. I mean, Shuri isn't in many of the movies other than Black Panther and Infinity War, the latter being the only one where she meets the Avengers. This actually gave me a lot of cool ideas like Shuri making a suit out of vibranium for Adelaide and Adelaide, Shuri, and Peter attacking T'Challa with vines. Oooh yeah I'm loving this. It's gonna be tricky since practically everyone dies in Infinity War and I haven't exactly planned where Adelaide's going to be during that timeline yet, but I know it's something I definitely want to try.

3\. Can we see an OC relationship for Ned later on?

Definitely! Depending on how Marvel decides to take Ned's love life in the rest of the Spider-Man movies, I would love to create a character just for him. Although, it would probably be wayyy down the road since there's just so much going on right now. But, yeah, I would definitely try to include something like this especially if Peter and Adelaide get to be his wingman/wingwoman.

4\. Favorite food and movie?

This is tricky. Mmm, I guess since I'm craving something sweet right now, it would have to be strawberry cheesecake. But, now that I think about it, my all time favorite has got to be cheese sticks. Or any Mexican food.

Favorite movie is super hard. There's just so many to choose from...I guess I'll give you a top in each genre.

Romance: A close tie between Love Rosie and Age of Adaline

Chick Flick: Revenge of the Bridesmaids

Action: Any Mission Impossible movie

Sci-Fi: Any Marvel movie (what a surprise right)

And last but not least, Space Movie (I know this isn't a genre but I love space movies): The Martian

5\. How and when did you come up with this story?

I came up with this story lying across my bed one morning during my summer vacation. I had recently watched Infinity War and it was safe to say I was an emotional wreck because Peter Parker is my favorite MCU character. The strange thing is that only a few months ago, I had terrible writer's block and I literally could not write anything to save my life. It was really bad. Like, really _really_ bad. Anyway, I had never written a fanfic before and I honestly never thought that I would but I knew I had to get over Infinity War somehow lol. So, I just started writing this fanfiction with the first idea that came to mind (which I can't tell you guys because it's basically the big mystery that Adelaide is trying to solve) and I just...knew. I knew that I wanted Tony to be a big part of the story (because he ties with Spider-Man in my favorites) and I knew that I wanted Peter to a big part of it too. It took a little planning after I started writing it and a whole lot of research (time well spent, in my opinion). And viola! We got Into the Light!

6\. How do you find time to write?

When school is on, I literally find maybe 10 minutes a day to write and I'm not joking. It's usually while I'm waiting in the car and I just write on my phone since Google Docs works offline (yay!). Sometimes, things get a bit chaotic and I can't find any time to write at all which means that that night, when I get into bed at like 12 or 1 in the morning, I write like half a scene before my eyes give up and then I'm dead to the world for the next 3-5 hours. When I'm on break (my favorite time), I usually try to write one scene a day so it depends entirely on the length of the chapter. I think my biggest problem with writing is once I publish a chapter, I usually have zero idea of what's going to happen in the next chapter. Yeah, I'm terrible at planning these things.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it! My first Q &A! It was really fun and I loved hearing all of the questions! I realize this was supposed to be like a Christmas present and it's a little late so a (very) belated merry Christmas to you all and I hope you will keep enjoying reading this story as much as I will enjoy writing it! **


	35. Chapter 34

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS! It's not new years where I live yet, but I decided to clear my entire schedule to finish this chapter just so I could give you guys a little new years present! As a bonus, this chapter is a little longer than usual and it's like the big finale. It's everything I've been leading up to but it's super duper sad and depressing so just beware.**

 **Anyway, I'm not really going to talk about what's in the chapter just because it's so long and literally so much happens I wouldn't even know where to start. But I will refresh your memory on the last chapter. In the previous chapter, all the files vanished (*gasp*) and Peter got into a fight with Flash (it was 100% Flash's fault if you ask me) and Adie flushed the flash drive into the toilet. Oh and she made Ned promise to stop searching.**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: Thank you for leaving the questions for the Q &A! I'm really glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for your kind review!**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: Wow! Those sound like awesome Christmas presents! Bet it's time for a Marvel marathon now...**_

 _ **lizlil: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters! And there's definitely some action in this one...**_

 **Thank you to:** _ **Fluffymarshmallows, Thebookworm33, lizlil, blueroses82, and babiix3**_ **for either following/favoriting or leaving a review in the previous chapters! Happy new years guys and thank so for almost 6 months of constant support for this story!**

* * *

 _"Remember:_

 _with great power_

 _comes great responsibility."_

* * *

Peter sighed, pushing open the door to his house and walking inside. He rubbed his jaw, feeling a small bruise coming on. He had hoped that he wouldn't have any obvious marks on his face from the fight, but his jaw told him that wasn't the case. Luckily, he came home on the bus today which meant he still had the chance to escape to his room and figure out some kind of excuse before Ben and May caught him.

"Peter?" May said, walking into the room with Ben right behind her. Peter sighed. Maybe he wouldn't have time to escape to his room. May walked up to him, a bright smile on her face which immediately faded away the moment she saw Peter's bruise jaw.

"What happened to your face?" May asked, cupping her nephew's face into her small hands. She lightly ran her thumb over the bruise on the jaw, her face twisted into a worried expression. Peter glanced at Uncle Ben who was watching him with a look that the teenager couldn't understand.

"I…"

"Did you fall down the stairs again, Pete?" Ben asked, a hint of a smile on his face, "You've got to start watching your step, champ."

Peter blinked at him and then looked at May who still look very worried.

"Er...yeah, that's what happened," Peter said, "I fell...down the stairs."

"Goodness Peter! You've got to start being more careful!" May said. Peter gave her a small smile.

"Sorry, Aunt May. It won't happen again," he said. She still looked worried as she shook her head.

"I'll go get you some painkillers. Stay right here, okay?" she said and then hurried back into the kitchen. Peter watched her until he felt Ben's gaze on him.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Ben asked, eyeing the bruise. Peter shook his head quickly.

"No, um, I just tripped on the last couple of steps and –"

"Did you win?" Ben interrupted. Peter stopped, looking at him.

"Um, what?"

Ben smiled knowingly, leaning against the couch and crossing his arms. He nodded his head towards the teenager's injury.

"Did you win the fight?" Ben elaborated. Peter shook his head in confusion. He thought Ben believed he had fallen down the stairs.

"I wasn't in a fight," Peter lied and Ben chuckled.

"Come on, Pete. I know a right hook when I see one," Ben said, "So did you win?"

Peter felt his face heating up from getting caught. He could never get much past Uncle Ben anyway. Peter sighed, clearing his throat as he looked down at the floor.

"Um, no. The teacher broke us up," he admitted. Ben shook his head in semi-amusement. He opened his mouth to say something when May walked back into the room with a glass of water and a pink painkiller in her hand. She handed the pill to Peter and then made him drink the whole glass of water.

Ben watched the two with a small smile on his face. He decided that he'd talk to Peter about this later.

* * *

"I told you, it does not make you look fat," Tony sighed. Pepper glared at his reflection in the mirror.

"Yes it does, Tony. I mean, just look at this stripes! They're not flattering at all," she frowned, turning to the side. She glared at her reflection as if it would make the stripes flattering.

Adelaide was sitting on the chaise lounge with a can of soda in her hand, watching the scene and trying not to be amused. The world thought Tony Stark was a genius, billionaire, philanthropist and, yet, here he was trying to convince his girlfriend that she did not look fat in a particular dress and he was failing miserably. The teenager was glad she had decided to come out of her room for once: it proved to be very entertaining.

"Then don't wear that one," Tony said tiredly, rubbing his face. Pepper whipped around.

"Are you saying that I _do_ look fat in this dress?" Pepper asked. The poor billionaire looked confused.

"What? No! When did I - look, all I'm saying is that if you don't like that dress, then just wear a different one," he said. Pepper pursed her lips, turning around to face the mirror again. Tony gave Adelaide an exasperated look.

"I can see you, Tony," Pepper said, "In the mirror."

"Of course you can," he mumbled, slumping in his seat.

"Adelaide, what do you think?" Pepper asked, looking at the teenager's reflection.

Adelaide looked like a deer caught in headlights and she suddenly wanted to teleport out of the room. She could see Tony fighting hysterics from the corner of her vision. She began to struggle to find an appropriate answer.

"I think that...um, I think you look good in every dress," she said, hoping it would suffice.

It did not.

"That's not helpful!" Pepper said, her voice rising a pitch, "This meeting is very important and I _have_ to look like I'm in charge. Do you know how hard it is to make a room full of men accept that there is a woman in charge and that she is perfectly capable of running an internationally renowned multi-billion dollar industry on her own?"

"I'm so glad I left all of that behind," Tony mumbled to himself.

"Um...very hard?" Adelaide guessed.

They both earned a hard glared from Pepper. Sighing and shaking her head, she disappeared into the bathroom again, probably to try on another dress. Adelaide was suddenly very glad that she wasn't the CEO of Stark Industries.

"Tony! Can you zip me up!"

Throwing a look in the teenager's direction, the billionaire pushed himself off the couch and went into the bathroom. Just then, Adelaide's phone rang in her hand – it was Ned. She pressed the green button, holding it up to her ear.

"Hey Ned," she said, trying to sound calm. Inside, she silently hoped that he hadn't called her about the files. It was for his best interest that he dropped that whole thing.

" _Hey did you hear about what happened to Peter?"_ Ned asked. Adelaide frowned. Peter? She hadn't talked to him since they decided to go to the library to story together.

"What happened to Peter?" she asked, feeling her heartbeat speed up. She began fearing the worst. What if the man who deleted her files got to him? What if he had kidnapped Peter just to get to her? Or worse...what if Peter was already dead?

" _He got in a fight with Flash,"_ Ned said. Adelaide was just about ready to start panicking when Ned's words settled in.

"Oh," she breathed, slumping back into the chaise lounge, "Oh."

" _Yeah,"_ Ned said, " _It wasn't that bad, but I heard they were sent to the principal's office. It's just so weird, you know? I didn't think Peter would do something like that again. Flash probably said something really terrible."_

Or Peter's been on edge…

Adelaide realized that with all the havoc with the files and the...the kiss...she had hardly talked to him and she doubted Ned had been either since he hated lying. This looked pretty bad. What if Peter thought she really was dating his best friend behind his back? She had to fix this. And the best way to do it was to just talk to him. Today, when they met up at the public library, she would just talk to him. It couldn't be that hard, right?

" _Adelaide?"_

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna talk to him just to see if everything's fine," she said.

" _Yeah that's probably a good idea. Listen, I have to go but tell me what he says, okay?"_

"Okay, bye."

Just as Adelaide hung up the phone, Pepper walked back out, wearing a different dress. She stopped in front of the mirror as Tony walked out.

"How's this one?" Pepper asked, her eyes still on her reflection. Tony came up behind his girlfriend and hugged her, setting his chin on her shoulder. A smile tugged at Pepper's lips.

"I think you look perfect," Tony mumbled to her reflection. She smiled and then turned around in his arms a moment later.

Adelaide suddenly wanted to leave the room.

"Keep it PG!" Adelaide said, getting out of the chaise lounge as quickly as she could and shielding her eyes, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving!"

She could hear the two laughing behind her as she hurried out of the room.

* * *

 _4:45 pm_

"Hey, Uncle Ben, I need to ask you something…"

Peter walked into his Uncle's room, feeling slightly stressed. He was supposed to meet Ada at the library at 5 o'clock. The fight started at 5 o'clock as well. And there was only one of him. He doubted his abilities went as far as making duplicates of himself. He only had 15 minutes to figure out a plan.

"What's the matter, champ?" Uncle Ben asked, sitting up in his seat.

"What would you do if you had to be in two places at the same time?" Peter asked.

Ben raised an eyebrow.

"And you really can't miss either?"

"Not really, no," Peter said.

He doubted Ada would appreciate getting stood up again and there was no way he could miss the fight. It was his only chance to come out with his new identity. He had been preparing for it all week long. He had made a makeshift suit to mask his identity and he even had a superhero name. He really couldn't afford to miss either one.

"That's a tough pickle, Pete," Ben said, letting out a breath. He clicked his tongue.

"Tell me about it," Peter sighed.

"If I were in your shoes, I'd just pick the one most important to me," Ben said, shrugging, "and go to that."

Suddenly, the perfect idea struck him. It was brilliant! The perfect solution! He would first go the cage fight because it probably wouldn't last more than half an hour and he would just text Ada that he'd be running a little late because of traffic. Then, after he was finished with the fight, he would take a taxi to the library and meet Ada there. No one would suspect a thing and he would get to be in both places in one night. Ergo: the perfect solution.

"Thanks Uncle Ben, you gave me the perfect idea," Peter said, rushing out of the room, "Come on, we have to go to the library!"

About 15 minutes later, Uncle Ben pulled up in front of the public library. Peter grabbed his backpack which held both his costume and books. It was consequently heavier than usual but he was too excited to care. He was about to go to a fight! He was going to win money!

"Thanks for the ride, Uncle Ben," Peter said, starting to feel excited.

"Now wait a minute, we uh...we need to talk," Ben said, stopping him. Peter dropped the door handle, sitting back into his seat.

"We can talk later…" Peter said. He was going to be late if he didn't get going now.

"Well we can talk now," Ben said, turning off the car, "If you let me."

Peter let out a quiet sigh, glancing out the window.

"What do we have to talk about right now?" Peter asked. Ben gave him a small smile.

"Because we haven't talked in so long you're Aunt May and I don't even know who you are anymore. You shirk your chores, you have all those weird experiments in your room, you start fights at school –"

"I didn't start that fight, I told you that!" Peter shouted.

"Well," Ben said, "you sure as hell finished it." Peter let out an angered sigh, dropping his hands in his lap. He had gone out of his way to keep himself from fighting, but it wasn't his fault Flash was angering him into fighting. How could Uncle Ben possibly not understand?!

"What was I supposed to do, run away?" Peter asked angrily. Ben shook his head.

"No, you're not supposed to run away, but…Peter, look, you're changing. I know, I went through the exact same thing at your age."

Peter shook his head, trying not to smile. He had no idea how wrong he was.

"No," Peter said, "not exactly."

Ben took a deep breath, trying again.

"Peter...these are the years when a man changes into the man he's going to become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you're changing into," he said, "This guy, Flash Thompson? He probably deserved what happened. But just because you can beat him up, doesn't give you the right to. Remember: with great power comes great responsibility."

"Are you afraid that I'm gonna turn into some kind of criminal?" Peter asked. Ben looked at his nephew with a sense of regret in his eyes. The boy had been through so much with his parents and now this bully...He dropped his eyes, shaking his head.

"No."

"Stop worrying about me, okay?" Peter said, "Something's different, I'll figure it out. Stop lecturing me, _please_."

"I don't mean to lecture and I don't mean to preach," Ben said quietly, "And I know I'm not your father –"

"Then stop pretending to be!" Peter shouted.

There was total silence in the car as the words hung in the air. Peter instantly wished he could take them back but it was too late. They were out there and Uncle Ben had heard them. The look on his face...Peter could see his heart breaking. The teenager looked away, unable to look his uncle in the eye as his face filled with shame.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Ben nodded slowly, swallowing as he looked at the floor.

"Right," he mumbled, his voice sounding flat, "I'll pick you up here at 8."

With one last look, Peter grabbed his backpack and got out of the car, closing the door behind him. He stood there until the car disappeared around the block, feeling terrible.

Clenching his fist, he turned around to call a taxi to take him to the fight.

* * *

 _6:00 pm_

Peter was almost an hour late for the fight and by the time he finally got there, the sun was already setting, casting an evening shadow over the streets. The dark, rainy clouds loomed over the sky like an omen.

"Yuh sure dis is where yuh wanna be, kid?" the cabbie asked, looking over his shoulder as he parked the taxi.

"Yeah," Peter said uncertainly, glancing outside at the building that was dimly lit by a flickering lamp post, "I'm sure."

"Dis is one of de sketchiuh parts of town. If I leave yuh here and yuh die, it's not on me, right? I don't wanna get involved wit' de cops, man," he said, shaking his head. Peter swallowed, silently cursing at the driver for scaring him.

"I'll be fine," Peter snapped, "How much?"

Peter's heart was hammering in his chest as he paid the cab driver and stepped out of the car. This was it, he thought as he watched the cab drive away, there's no turning back now.

Looking around, there was hardly anyone out on the streets minus a few of the sketchy-looking folk lingering in the dark alleys like wild dogs waiting to pounce and bite. Peter suppressed a shiver and pulled his jacket closer. With his abilities, no one could touch him. He would be fine. Now, he just had to get to the fight...

With a hand shaking from the cold, he reached inside his backpack and pulled out the advertisement for the fight. He was in the right place, he realized, looking up at the old, slimey brick building the cabbie had dropped him off in front of. Taking a deep, determined breath, he twisted the handle and let himself inside.

Instantly, he was surrounded by the sound of a wild, cheering crowd. He stepped onto the staircase leading downwards and closed the door behind himself, surprised by how much sound one little door could block. Clutching the paper tightly in his hand, he made his way down the stairs. As he got closer to the fight, the sounds grews louder. He swallowed nervously when he heard a man screaming. What had he gotten himself into?

Maybe he should just go now. He could walk a few blocks back to civilization before it turned too dark and then hail a cab back to the library where Ada would be waiting under the false belief that he was stuck in traffic. He could live without 2,000 dollars...right?

"Can I help you?" a man grumbled, pulling Peter out of his thoughts. He realized the man sitting behind the desk was talking to him.

"I'm here for the uh...fight?"

The beefy man studied him for a second, looking him up and down in a way that made Peter feel uncomfortable in more ways than one. Then, he silently pointed a set of stairs on the right. Nodding, Peter hurriedly made his way down the stairs, eager to get away from that peculiar man.

The sound of the crowd was deafening once he got closer. Bracing himself, he pushed open the door.

It was crazy. There must have been hundreds of people in the crowds and several dozen putting on a show, including the violent fight that was happening in the center of the arena. Peter watched the two men wrestle violently, mesmerized. He realized that he was about to be up there, in front of the cheering crowd. Suddenly, one of the men in the ring fell to the floor and the referee held the winner's hand in the air.

"WINNER!" the referee shouted and the crowd roared deafeningly. A man wearing a ridiculous shiny gold suit pulled the microphone from the referee's hands.

"Will the next contestant make their way over at this time for just 3 minutes in the cage with bone saw for the sum of TWO-THOUSAND dollars!" he announced and the crowd cheered excitedly once again.

Peter realized that he should probably get in position so he quickly pushed his way through the crowd and stopped behind the curtains that the man in the shiny golden suit was standing in front of. Peter quickly reached into his backpack and pulled his mask over his head.

He blinked nervously, feeling his stomach twisting itself into several knots. He wiped his hands against his thighs, trying to calm his nerves. This was really happening.

"...And the next contestant is...pst, what's your name, kid?" He almost answered 'Peter Parker,' but he stopped himself just in time.

Clearing his throat, he said, "The Human Spider."

"Human spider? That's it? That's the best you got?" the announcer said.

"Yeah…" Peter answered. What? It wasn't bad. In fact, it had taken him all week to come up with that. He was pretty proud of it, too.

"Oh, come on, that sucks," the announcer mumbled under his breath, turning away from the curtains. Squaring his shoulders, the announcer stepped forward, into the spotlight.

"The sum of 2,000 dollars will be paid to...the terrifying, the deadly...the amazing Spider-Man!"

The curtain pulled up and the crowd gasped. Peter blinked under the harsh white light, wincing.

"My name's the Human Spider," he said to the man standing behind him.

"Get out, kid!"

"No, he got my name wrong!"

"I said get out there, you moron!" the man said, shoving him into the light. The crowd began booing angrily as Peter towards the ring. He could hear people talking to him but their voices felt distant.

" _...Bone Saw's gonna eat you up and spit you out, little man…"_

" _...I hope you brought your mommy with you…"_

" _...We're gonna break your…"_

" _...you crying…"_

Suddenly, a couple of people pulled by in front of him with a grown man lying on a stretcher, whining in pain.

"Ah, my leg! I can't feel my leg…"

Peter stopped walking and swallowed nervously as he watched the man get pulled away from the ring. The crowd began shouting something, pulling Peter out of his scary thoughts.

" _Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"_

Ignoring them, Peter stepped up the ring where so-called Bone Saw was standing, encouraging the crowd. Ducking under the rope, he stepped inside confidently. He could do this. He hadn't come all this way for nothing. Plus, after this, he still had to get to the library for Ada.

Suddenly, Peter heard the sound of metal creaking from above him. He looked up, his eyes wide.

"Cage!" the crowd shouted.

Peter looked around frantically. Oh no...The walls of cage closed around them, trapping him with Bone Saw. He edged away to the corner.

"Hello? Guys!" he shouted but no one paid attention.

"Will the guards please lock the cage at this time?" the man in the shiny golden suit announced. Peter ran up to one of the guards locking the cage.

"Hey listen!" he shouted, "This is some kind of mistake! I didn't sign up for a cage match!"

The guard ignored him and locked his corner of the cage.

"Hey!" Peter shouted, starting to panic, "Unlock the thing!"

"Hey fritzo!" came a deep voice from behind him, "You're going nowhere!"

Peter turned around slowly, facing Bone Saw who was currently laughing at him. Peter swallowed. Uh oh…

"I got you for three minutes!" Bone Saw said, holding up four fingers, "Three minutes of fight time!"

The timer above them dinged and Bone Saw came for him. Peter panicked and jumped up, latching onto the cage walls with his sticking powers. Bone Saw ran straight into the wall, hitting his head.

"What're you doing up there!" Bone Saw shouted at him, shaking his fist.

"Staying away from you," he said, "That's a cute outfit, did your husband give it to you?"

Bone Saw growled and lunged for him. Before he could catch him, Peter jumped off the cage and flipped in the air, landing perfectly on the opposite side of the cage. When the man came for him again, he shot his webs onto the cage ceiling and pulled himself up. Once again, Bone Saw ran into the wall, missing Peter by inches. Peter dropped his webs and landed on the other side of the cage again. But this time, Peter didn't see Bone Saw coming towards him with a chair. Before he could move away, Bone Saw brought the chair down on Peter, knocking him over.

"Argh!" Peter shouted, falling down. Bone Saw hit his head with the chair again and Peter winced at the pain. Still, Peter attempted to pull himself up. Bone Saw brought the chair down on his back this time, knocking the air out of him. Throwing the chair away, Bone Saw grabbed Peter by the leg and flung him against the cage wall like an old rag over and over again.

Peter groaned, rubbing his forehead and turning over. His eyes widened when he saw Bone Saw coming towards him with a crowbar. Without thinking, Peter shot a kick into his chest, making him fold over. Then, he kept kicking him until he fell against wall. With one last war-like cry, Bone Saw ran towards Peter, raising the crowbar above his head.

Groaning, Peter used his feet to trip Bone Saw and make him flip over. The huge man slammed against the wall and then fell to the floor.

The crowd erupted into cheers as Peter stumbled up, breathing hard. He felt a smile coming onto his face as he realized that he had just won. The referee ran up to him as soon as the cage pulled up and then grabbed his arm, holding it up victoriously.

"WINNER!"

The crowd roared even louder, if that was possible.

"Give it up for the new champion, Spider-Man!"

Peter watched in awe as the crowd shouted his name triumphantly. He grinned from ear to ear and held both his hands up, waving excitedly.

He had just won 2,000 dollars!

* * *

 _7:35 pm_

The beefy man sitting behind the desk drew a 100 dollar bill from his large pile of cash and slid it to Peter.

"Now get outta here," the man said, waving his hand. He resumed counting the wad of cash in his hands.

Peter blinked confusingly.

"A 100 bucks?" he asked, holding up the bill in his hand. This was barely enough money to buy groceries for a whole month. "The ad said 2,000."

The man stopped counting his money and turned to look at Peter, throwing him a disgusted look.

"Well check it again, webhead. It said 2 grand for 3 minutes and you pinned him in 2. For that, I give you a 100 and you're lucky to get that," he spat.

"I need that money," he heard himself saying. The man sat up in his creaking chair. He narrowed his eyes at the teenager.

"I missed the part where that's my problem," he said, smirking. Peter blinked at him, his face hardening. He threw the man a dirty look and turned around, clutching the 100 dollar bill in his hand.

All that time, all that fighting...wasted. He didn't even get the 2,000 dollars. Sighing, he opened the door a let himself out, almost running into another man. As he walked down the dim hall, he decided to take the elevator this time. He was too tired to climb the stairs.

As he waited for the elevator, he heard a shout behind him. It was coming from around the corner.

"Hurry up!"

Suddenly, the man he had run into by the door ran out from the corner with the beefy man chasing after him. Peter watched, confused.

"Stop him!" the beefy man shouted, "He stole the money! Stop that guy!"

Peter's face hardened as the thief came closer to him. Now he understood. Looking the beefy man in the eye, Peter stepped aside, letting the thief into the elevator.

"Thanks!" he shouted as the elevator closed. The guard missed him by seconds.

"What the hell's the matter with you, you let him go!" the guard shouted in Peter's face before stomping away. The beefy man finally caught up to him, rubbing his head in pain.

"You coulda taken that guy apart," he said, "Now he's gonna get away with _my_ money."

"I missed the part where that's my problem," Peter said, looking him dead in the eye. Something like understanding flashed across the man's face. Nodding twice, he walked away.

Peter smirked after him, feeling rather proud of himself for getting the last word.

* * *

 _8:20 pm_

Adelaide was furious. She had been waiting for Peter for _three hours_. He had texted her saying that he was stuck in traffic but clearly he had been lying. He had stood her up. Again.

She was standing on the steps of the library, shivering under her coat. It was completely dark outside now and it was pouring hard. She hadn't even brought an umbrella since she thought that she would be home by now. It was 8 o'clock already. Where the hell _was_ Peter? He hadn't been answering any of her calls or texts. It was just like last time all over again.

But this time, she wasn't worried about him at all. No, not worried. The only thing that she could feel was anger coursing through her veins. Who the hell did he think he was? The queen of England? Maybe she hadn't made it clear enough the first time how angry she had been. No, this wasn't her fault at all. It was his fault for making the same mistake again.

She was never, _ever_ talking to him again. And not even a kiss would fix it this time. Not like it was the reason she forgave him last time...The kiss had just happened. It was an accident despite the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about it. The point was that she was never talking to or kissing Peter again.

Letting out an angry huff, she fumbled to pull her phone out of her pocket. It was harder to do while shivering from the cold. Finally, she got it out and quickly texted Happy to come pick her up. She was done waiting for Peter to show up – it was very clear that he wasn't coming.

Dropping her phone back into her pocket, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She regretted not wearing double layers but it was too late for that. Happy would be here soon and then she'd be back at the warm Tower with a cup of hot chocolate in no time.

On the street, people were huddled together, hurrying to either get in a car or under a roof to escape the freezing rain. Suddenly, her gaze fell on a very familiar car parked a few feet from her. Was that Uncle Ben's car? In the rain, she could just barely make out a figure who looked an awful lot like Uncle Ben stepping out of the car.

Adelaide squinted. That was definitely Uncle Ben, but who was the man he was talking to? The rain made it hard to see his face and most of his body was covered by the car. Should she go say hi? But without an umbrella…

Squinting even more, she watched as another man ran up to them. Maybe she should go say hi…

Suddenly, there was a loud boom. Adelaide's body froze mid step as she realized what that familiar sound was.

That was the sound of a gunshot.

* * *

 _8:24 pm_

Peter hadn't realized that it was going to rain tonight so he hadn't brought an umbrella. He deeply regretted it. The cabbie had dropped him off a little ways from the library and he was walking down the street to where he knew Uncle Ben would be waiting. The rain pelted down on him but he was already soaked and freezing so he didn't bother running.

It was 8 o'clock already and Ada had probably left by now. He had thought he would have made it in time, but it was too late now. This was the second time he had stood her up and he felt terrible. Even more so this time because he had done it deliberately and he was 1,900 dollars short. Kicking his foot in the puddle, he turned the corner, coming up to the front of the library.

He was scanning the road for Uncle Ben's car when he saw a couple of police cars whiz by him and stop in front of the library. Peter picked up the pace until he was jogging towards the crowd that had formed in front of the library.

Peter had a bad feeling about this. Nonetheless, he pushed his way through the crowd, trying to see what had happened.

His heart was hammering loudly in his chest. Why was he so afraid? He didn't even know what was going on. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't control his breathing. He was terrified even before he broke through the center of the crowd.

And then everything stopped. The rain, the crowd, the sirens, his heart…For a moment, there was stone cold silence.

"Step back!" the police officer shouted, pushing Peter. Peter shoved his hand off desperately.

"That's my uncle!" he shouted, falling to his knees. He was shaking from head to toe. With a shivering hand, he reached out and held Uncle Ben's hand.

"What happened?" he whispered. The crowd heard him even over all the noise. Everyone fell silent.

"Pete?" a soft voice asked. Slowly, Peter looked up until he was face to face with Adelaide. She was sitting across from him, holding Uncle Ben's other hand.

"Ada?" he croaked, "W-What happened?" The tears were cascading down his face now but he hardly felt a thing. He was in shock.

Adelaide bit her lip and the tears spilled over. She shook her head.

"I-I don't know," she cried, "H-He's been shot."

Adelaide moved her hand off of his abdomen, revealing the bullet wound underneath. Everything was soaked in blood. The sight made Peter feel dizzy and he clutched Uncle Ben's hand tighter as if it would somehow save him. He couldn't be shot...not Uncle Ben…

"The paramedics are on their way, son," the police officer said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Peter barely heard him. How could this be happening…? He couldn't understand. Uncle Ben would never hurt a fly then how…

"Uncle Ben?" he heard himself saying, "Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben!"

His eyes fluttered and the air rushed back into Peter's lungs.

"Uncle Ben!" Peter shouted, tears running down his face. He was still alive! He was alive! Ben looked around until his eyes landed on his nephew. He smiled meekly, ignoring the pain that followed.

"Peter?" he croaked. Peter nodded eagerly, moving closer.

"I'm here, Uncle Ben," he said softly, smiling through his tears, "I'm here."

"Peter…" he mumbled painfully as his vision began to fade away. He captured his nephew's face for the last time before everything faded away into darkness.

Peter felt all the air knock out of him. His muscles gave away and he slumped against the ground, sobbing. His heart wrenched in incredible pain as he watched his Uncle's hand slip from his.

He felt another, softer hand grab his but he wasn't paying attention. He stared at his Uncle's face, shaking with sobs. He was gone. His Uncle Ben was really gone. For good. He was gone for good. Peter felt something break inside of him and he dropped his head, sobbing.

"We got the shooter, he's heading south on 5th Avenue. Got three cars in pursuit…" the officer said into his walkie talkie.

Peter froze, looking up. He knew what he had to do. He stood up, the hand in his falling away.

"Pete? Peter, what are you doing?" Adelaide shouted, standing up. But he wasn't listening – he was already making his way out of the crowd. Panic settled into Adelaide's chest as she chased after him. Where the hell was going?

"Peter!" she shouted but her voice was drowned out by the rain. He took off down the street and Adelaide sprinted behind him. What if he was going to…? No, no way was she going to let him to that. She had to stop him.

"Peter!"

He barely heard anything as he sprinted down the street. He took a sharp turn around the corner and by the time Adelaide caught up, he had disappeared. She stopped, breathing heavily. She had lost him. What if he had been going to take his own life...

Suddenly, Adelaide realized where he was going. He wasn't going to take his own life. He was going to take someone else's! She had to stop him and she knew a shorter way to 5th Avenue. With a new determination, she tore down the street after her best friend.

Meanwhile, Peter was already perched up on the dome of a building, looking down at the streets. There, he spotted his uncle's car speeding down the road with three cop cars chasing after it. He narrowed his eyes.

He shot out a web to the closest building. There was only one way to catch up to that car now. Tightening his jaw in anger, he swung himself off the dome and towards the next building. When he let go of the web, for a moment, he was suspended in mid air with no strings. Then, he shot out his web to the next building and swung himself over.

There was no way he was letting that man get away. _No_ way.

Soon enough, he had caught up to the cop cars. But he wasn't close enough yet. He wanted that man.

He swung faster until he landed on his uncle's car with a loud thump. The man driving jumped, trying to see what had just landed on the roof. Before he had a chance to though, Peter punched through the roof of the car, blindly grasping for the man's face. Suddenly, bullets shot through the roof, missing Peter by inches. Peter suddenly wanted to have that man's throat between his fingers even if it meant tearing the car apart to get to it. Instead of ripping the car apart, Peter jumped off and landed on the roof of a small truck driving by. He kept his eye on the car.

He waited for the right moment and then he jumped off the truck and landed on the front of the car, shattering the windshield. The man lost control and the car swerved off the road. Looking behind him, Peter saw that they were headed towards a closed iron gate. He jumped up just in time as the car crashed into the gate. The man rushed out of the car and into the building up ahead.

Little did he know, Peter was already lurking inside, waiting for him to come.

Nervously, the man stumbled around the room he had run into. He had his gun out in front of him but his hands weren't steady. He was looking left and right, trying to find that kid who had crashed his car. He didn't know to look up.

"Who's there!" he shouted at the shadows. Peter moved and the man shot at his shadow.

Stealthily jumping down from the ceiling, Peter landed right behind the man. Peter grabbed him by the collar, taking him by surprise, and rammed his head into the window. The man screamed in pain but Peter didn't stop. Grunting, he pulled him back and broke some more glass. He was going to put this man through hell and then kill him.

The man tried to defend himself, but it was no use. Peter was not stopping until he was finished.

Unknown to them, a certain teenage girl was hidden in the shadows, watching them. Adelaide had never seen Peter like this before. He was raging with fury and he had every right to but...but she couldn't let him do something that he would regret later. He was acting purely on anger and he wasn't the Peter she knew. She knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he killed this man tonight. She had to stop him.

"Don't hurt me!" the man shouted, "Just give me a chance! I have a family! Just give me a chance!"

Peter gritted his teeth, shaking his head.

"What about my uncle?" Peter shouted, shoving the man, "Did you give him a chance! Did you?"

Peter shoved the man against the wall, holding him by the collar. His fingers twitched to wrap themselves around his neck and squeeze the life out him slowly. Instead, when the light reflected on his face, Peter suddenly realized something. He had seen him before.

This was the man who had stolen the money from the fight. It was the man he hadn't stopped. This man who hadn't been his problem, he…

Peter saw flashes of the moment again. Standing by the elevator...stepping to the side...watching him as he ran by...all those moments...all those times he could have stopped him...

Peter stepped away, dropping the man.

He quickly scrambled up. Then he cocked his gun and held it against Peter's head.

"I'm sorry 'bout this, kid," he said, wrapping his finger around the trigger to kill the second man this night. Adelaide gasped, her eyes darting between the two. She had to do something!

In a flash, Peter knocked the gun out of his hand and twisted his arm around until he heard it crack. The man shouted in pain, dropping to the ground. In an instant, Peter grabbed the gun off the floor and held it against the man's head. He tried crawling away, but he was already against the wall. He was trapped.

"This is for my uncle," Peter said, wrapping his finger around the trigger. Adelaide began panicking. She had to stop him...but how? She caught Peter's face in the light, filled with pain and anger. She had to do something. Adelaide closed her eyes until she felt the familiar energy at her fingertips. When she opened her eyes again, the man was invisible. Lightning flashed, illuminating the room.

Peter blinked, lowering the gun. The man had...disappeared. Peter looked around the room, pointing the gun in every direction. Still, the man was nowhere. He was gone.

"Hey!" Peter shouted, "Come out here!"

The man, who had been lying on the floor, stumbled up quietly. He had no idea what was going on, but he realized that, for some strange reason, the kid couldn't see him. Just to make sure, he waved his hand when the kid faced his direction. The kid looked away like he had seen nothing.

Furrowing his eyebrows, the man stepped forward carefully. The kid couldn't see him and he had no idea why. Either way, it didn't matter. He wasn't going to hang around until the kid noticed him again. Quietly, he made his way to the door. Adelaide held her breath as he walked past her. She was invisible, but he could still hear her if she was loud. Once he was close enough, he broke into sprint and escaped.

Once he was gone, Adelaide realized she was crying still. With trembling fingers she reached up and wiped her tears away. Shivering, she peeked around the corner. Peter was slumped on the floor with his back to her and the gun was still in his hands but he wasn't holding it anymore, it was just...sitting there like a reminder.

Adelaide made herself visible again and stepped around the corner.

"Pete?" she whispered. Slowly, he turned around. He looked broken, regretful. He had given up. He turned away. Adelaide's heart broke at the sight of him like this. She fell down next to him and gently took the gun from his hands, tossing it to the side. Peter stared at the ground, feeling hollow inside. Adelaide just sat next to him, staring at the ground too and trying to emotionally catch up on everything that had happened.

"I messed up," he croaked. Adelaide turned her head to look at him.

"He's gone, Ada. Uncle Ben, he's…gone," his voice cracked and he dropped his head, "It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault," she whispered, shaking her head. He didn't raise his head.

"Yes it is," he said, "I...I can't…"

He began crying until his entire body was shaking with sobs. Adelaide wrapped her arms around him, burying her head into his shoulder. He hugged her back, clinging to her like a little child.

"It's gonna be okay, Pete," she whispered and Peter wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe her so bad, but he knew better. He had messed up and Uncle Ben had paid the consequences.

They both held each other close, shivering in the darkness until their hearts were raw from the pain.

* * *

 **A/N: So it happened...Uncle Ben died...**

 **Fun fact: I actually started crying writing the scene where he died because I was watching a clip of it on youtube to get the dialogue right and it was just so damn sad I had to tear up. RIP Uncle Ben. :,(**

 **I've got two questions for you guys today! Side note, I'm really loving these and I love hearing your answers, it's always so interesting.**

 _ **Question 1: What's your New Year's resolution?**_

 _ **Question 2: Do you think Adelaide should have made that man invisible and let him escape?**_

 **I'm really curious about what you guys think about the second one because I think it could go a lot of ways...Anyway, Happy New Years and I hope that 2019 really is the year for you!**


	36. Chapter 35

**A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter is so short and it took so long to upload. The problem was that I was trying to write a scene at the end but every time I tried to, I would just get writer's block and I finally realized that it was because the scene didn't really make any sense. It felt kind of out of character and just very bleh.**

 **In other news, college starts next monday so anyone want to dig me a grave? I'd happily jump in. God, I hate waking up early and trying to run on like 3 hours of sleep every day. It is the worst. And then updates will get slower too because of all the homework so just ughhhhhh. I can't wait for summer vacation. If you can't dig me a grave, get me a time machine so I can like skip this entire semester. Seriously. I'm dreading it so much.**

 **On a side, happier note, I finally finished binge watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NINE NINE) and The Good Place and so now I don't really know what to do with my life anymore. Why is it always so damn hard to recover from finishing a series? Is there really even a right way? I mean, I always find a rebound that ends up consuming my life until I finish it and then the cycle starts all over again. It's endless torture. Gah! By the way, if you haven't watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Seriously drop everything right now and watch it. It's sooooooo good.**

 **Anyway, this chapter is mostly the funeral and wrapping up some other loose ends. The next chapter will probably start with a small time skip but I'm not sure I'll have to double check that. Anyway, enjoy this chapter even though it's not even 2,000 words long :)**

 _ **Thebookworm33: I'm so happy you picked up on that little reference! I actually went back on youtube to find the scene with the strawberries just so I could quote it word for word lol. I sometimes picture Adelaide as a mini Pepper and obviously Peter's already a mini Tony even though they haven't met yet. It's kinda cute, actually.**_

 **Thank you to: _phoenixravenclaw, Edward Cullen's Girl, and Thebookworm33_ for following/favoriting or leaving a review in the previous chapter! It means a whole lot :)**

* * *

 _"I love you."_

* * *

The cops had made it to his house before he had. The flashing blue and red lights hurt his eyes, but he didn't bother trying to shield them. At the moment, Peter couldn't feel very much of anything except the piercing pain in his skull every time the lights flashed. He was numb inside out.

The rain had finally died down but Peter was still shivering under his soaked clothes. It didn't matter. His uncle was gone. And Peter hadn't even been able to kill that bastard who had shot him. He curled his hand into a fist. It didn't make any more sense every time he thought about it. One minute, that man was there, but the next...How could someone disappear that quickly? He had held a gun to that man's forehead the whole time.

Peter twisted open the door, stepping inside. The room was filled with detectives and police. None of them paid any attention to him. He slipped by into the kitchen where he found Aunt May talking to a detective. The moment Peter saw her, he froze. What had he done? It was his fault that Uncle Ben had died tonight. But he wasn't just his uncle. He had also been a loving husband. Now Aunt May was a widowed woman.

Peter made a tight fist in his pocket, a wave of anger hitting him. Who was he angry at? Himself? The thief who had killed his uncle? God?

"Oh my goodness, Peter!" May cried, jumping from her seat. She threw her arms around him and hugged him close. After a moment's hesitation, Peter did the same.

"May," he croaked into her hair. His vision turned blurry and he blinked the tears away, swallowing. "I'm sorry, May."

She just hugged him tighter. There were no words left to say.

"Excuse me ma'am," a detective said, clearing his throat. Peter unwrapped his arms, stepping back. He shamefully stared at the ground.

"The sketch artist just handed this to us," he said, holding up a paper with the sketch of a man, "Do you recognize him?"

Peter gritted his teeth, making a fist in his pocket.

 _Yes._

"No," May whispered, shaking her head, "I don't know him."

The detective nodded understandingly.

"I didn't expect you to, ma'am," he said gently, "Our detectives are on it. We'll let you know as soon as anything comes up."

May nodded weakly, taking a seat again. Peter followed the detective down the hall, stopping him just before he left.

"Can I have that, please?" he asked, pointing to the sketch. The detective nodded, handing him the paper. Peter stared into the killer's face, filling with regret.

"There's one other thing," the detective said, "He has a star tattooed on his left hand."

Peter swallowed, nodding.

"Thank you, detective," he managed to say.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

The cops cleared out of their house soon after and it was just him and Aunt May. It suddenly hit him that there was never going to be him, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben together again in this house. It was over.

Slowly, Peter peeked around the corner at his aunt. Her whole body was shaking with sobs and he realized that she had been holding back until now. Something tugged in his chest. He wanted to go comfort her but something held him back. Instead, he turned around and stormed up the stairs, not stopping until he had locked the door of his room behind himself.

He slowly slid down to the ground, holding his head between his knees. He wanted to cry but he couldn't. He sat up again, taking a shuddering breath. The air felt icy in his lungs. Peter dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had a voicemail from Uncle Ben. He bit his lip, staring out the window. Closing his eyes, he pressed the button to listen to it.

" _Peter, I know things have been difficult lately and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling...ever since you were a little boy, you've been living with so many unresolved things. Well, take it from an old man, those things send us down a road...they make us who we are. And if anyone's destined for greatness, it's you, son. You owe the world your gifts, you just have to figure out how to use them and know that wherever they take you, we'll always be here. So come home, Peter. You're my hero and...I love you."_

There was a pause.

" _End of voicemail."_

Then there was silence.

 _I love you too._

* * *

The funeral was small. Only the Parker's closest friends were invited. Adelaide decided to go alone. Pepper, Tony, and Happy had all offered to go, but Adelaide felt this was something she needed to be alone for.

They were at the cemetery now, huddled close to keep warm from the cold. It was a very gray day; there was no sun, just gray. They were standing at the front, by the casket. Peter had his arms around May in a way that gave the sense that he was holding her up, but Adelaide knew better. He needed May just as much as she needed him. Adelaide stood beside them, not being able to tear her eyes away from the casket. She realized that this was her second funeral within the span of this year. She didn't know how to feel about that.

Once the ceremony was over, she was standing at the edge of the gravesite, close to the fence while everyone approached Peter and May to offer their condolences. As Adelaide patiently waited, Ned joined her.

"Can you believe that he's really gone?" he asked. Adelaide pulled her lips in, staring at the ground.

 _Yes I can, I saw him die right in front of me_.

"Do you think Peter's gonna be okay?" Ned asked her. Adelaide shook her head.

"This really hit him," she said, watching him. It was like someone had taken all the life out of him. And maybe it was just her imagination but he looked...guilty. That night, he kept saying that it was his fault but Adelaide hadn't really paid attention to what he had meant by that.

Then there was the part where he almost killed a man...Adelaide was beginning to doubt her decision to stop him. Should she have done that? It wasn't her place to make that decision but she knew that Peter would never be able to live with himself if he had killed him. If she tried to tell him what she'd done, she would also have to tell him about her ability to control light.

"I have to go," Ned said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "I'm gonna go talk to Peter before I go."

"Yeah, bye," she said, tightening her arms around herself. She watched as Ned put his hand on Peter's shoulder and said something. Peter nodded and they both hugged each other. As Ned walked away, Peter's gaze landed on Adelaide. He said something to May and began making his way towards her.

"Hey," Adelaide said softly when he approached her, "How are you feeling?"

He stopped in front of her.

"I'm fine," he said with a shake of his head.

"Peter," she said gently, taking a step closer, "I'm your friend. You can tell me how you're really feeling."

He just stared at the grass, swallowing.

"I'm...scared," he admitted, "I...I don't know what to do. Aunt May...you should see her, Ada. Last night I heard her crying alone in her room and there was nothing I could do. I just…"

He let out a shaky breath that tugged a string in Adelaide's heart. She hated seeing him like this. She reached out, touching his arm.

"I know this is hard but you're not alone, you know that? Peter, this will never get easier. The pain will never go away but you don't have to go through it alone. If you need anything at all, I'm just...I'm here," she said, gently squeezing his arm. He nodded silently.

"Thank you," he managed to say. Instead of replying, Adelaide pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. A moment later, he hugged her back, burying his face into her shoulder. She could feel him shivering but it wasn't from the cold. She just hugged him tighter.

Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.

* * *

 **A/N: Ending on a sad note once again, things don't get to bright any time soon but they don't get worse...I think. At this point, I've really lost sight of what's bad and what's worse for this story because everything that happens makes Adelaide miserable lmao. But I will admit, the more miserable my characters, the more fun it is for me to write it ;)**

 _ **Question: Which rebound show should I start watching first: Victoria, Timeless, or Downton Abbey? I'm leaning towards Timeless or Victoria but I can't decide lol.**_


	37. Chapter 36

**A/N: Hey guysss! It's been a while...oops. Like I said the notice, I've kind of had writer's block for the past month and anything I write just feels like crap. Like something that I wrote when I was 12 and just starting to write stuff. Anyway, the past couple of days have been really productive and I finally feel like my writer's block is going away. Phew! I hate having writer's block, but, usually, when it's gone, I'm literally flooding with ideas and I love that. That's basically what I'm doing right now lmao.**

 **Quick life update: college has started and (surprisingly) I'm not drowning in work just yet. But I'm sure that I will be after this week so yay me -.-**

 **Now let's get down to business. So the last couple chapters were really freaking depressing. I mean, Ben died, Peter cried, May cried, Adelaide cried, I cried...everybody cried. Then Peter listened to a really nice voicemail from his dead uncle and then we all cried some more and then we had a funeral. I think that sums up about most of it.**

 **But this chapter starts with a time skip and let's just say that things get veryyyy interesting. I'm starting a new timeline with this chapter and it's just filled with action and mystery and I love it. I'm sure you guys will too, since we're gonna be getting a break from all the depression for a while. But don't worry, it's only a small break and we'll be right back to depression soon. It's lovely, isn't it? I love being the wicked author. *cue Chesire Cat smile***

 _ **Aunknowntimelord & Fluffymarshmallows: So since the majority of people on all the platforms that I publish on suggested that I watch Victoria, I did, and it's frigging AWESOME! I love it and Jenna Coleman is the perfect Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is soooo dreamy (without the mustache lmao). I'm seriously learning so much from the show and it's so entertaining to watch at the same time. Thanks so much for the suggestion! **_

_**Lizlil: I agree with you! I definitely think Adelaide made the right decision when she chose to stop Peter from killing Flint Marko but our vengeful Peter might not feel the same way...;) And I'm glad you enjoyed the scene with Pepper and Tony! There's another one in this chapter that I think you'll enjoy and laugh at too. Thanks for leaving a review! :)**_

 **Thank you to: Fluffymarshmallows, Aunknowntimelord, BlooAngels, KeepCalmAndLoveKitKats, Hisokeee, gearo1313, Buckyass, TRAVELERAYGA, and Plexi Pink for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! Sorry for the long wait between chapters but you guys are seriously amazing!**

* * *

 _"Priceless artifacts from deep_

 _within the tombs in the_

 _pyramids of Egypt."_

* * *

 _ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER_

 _APRIL 15, 2016_

There was a loud crash upstairs and everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, looking up with wide eyes simultaneously. Peter glanced at Adelaide and she shrugged.

"Is everything okay, Aunt May?" Peter shouted. They could hear some footsteps and nervous coughing.

"Well, um, you didn't like that old mathletes trophy too much, did you?" she asked. A smile tugged at Peter's lips and Ned stifled a laugh.

"Not really, no," he shouted back. An audible sigh could be heard from upstairs.

"Ah, good," she breathed, "because I just shattered it." Peter smiled, shaking his head and went back to taping the big brown box in front of him. Once he was done, he tossed the tape to Ned who taped two more boxes.

"Be careful with that one," Peter said, heaving up one of the boxes, "That's Aunt May's china." Ned looked at the box in his hands nervously and then put it back down, brushing his hands on his pants.

"Maybe you should take that one," he said, "I don't want to be on the wrong side of May's wrath if those get broken."

"I'll take it," Adelaide said, rolling her eyes, "Ned, you take this one."

His eyes widened at the big box.

"What's in it?" he asked.

"Priceless artifacts from deep within the tombs in the pyramids of Egypt," she told him. Poor Ned looked horrified.

"I-I can't take that! What if I break it?!"

Peter chuckled, shaking his head. Adelaide smiled. His smiles had become rare and she liked to think that she had become funnier in the past 3 months since…

"It's just blankets, Ned," Peter said. Ned's eyes snapped to Adelaide who stifled a laugh. He let out a breath. He opened his mouth to get angry but he stopped when he saw the smile on Peter's face. Adelaide and Ned shared a knowing look as they each grabbed their own boxes and lifted them up. Peter pulled open the door with his foot and Ned and Adelaide followed him outside to load the trailer.

"Thanks for helping me and Aunt May with this stuff, guys," he said, "It really means a lot." The doors to the trailer were already open so they all dropped their boxes inside and Peter climbed up to stack them safely.

"It's no problem, really," Ned said. Adelaide nodded, stuffing her hands in her hoodie.

"Yeah, we're glad we could help," she said, "Plus, there is no way you and May could have done this alone."

Peter jumped down from the trailer, wiping his hands on his pants. It wasn't particularly cold outside today, though it was slightly windier than usual.

"So how's the new apartment like?" Ned asked. Peter nodded hesitantly.

"It's nothing compared to this house, but...I guess it's big enough for the two of us," he said. There was a moment of silence as his words sank in. After Ben died, May's job alone didn't bring in nearly enough money to keep the house and continue to live as they used to. Besides, every moment spent in this house was a painful reminder of the hollowness in every corner. It just wasn't the same.

So Peter and May decided that it was time to move out and rent a smaller place. It was a sufficient apartment with two bedrooms and a view of the city. It wasn't a luxury but, in this case, the smaller the better. And a little change in atmosphere would be good for them. In the past month, the two had been so busy with finding and finalizing the apartment and packing boxes that it had become somewhat easier to deal with the pain. It wasn't gone, of course, but it had become tolerable, a part of their life.

Their silence was broken as May broke something else on the pavement.

"That...that was my favorite vase," she whispered, staring at the shattered pottery on the pavement. The three teenagers shared a look. It was time to go do some damage control. Peter rushed up to May and gently took the box from her hands.

"Hey Aunt May, can Ned and Ada come with us so they can see the new apartment?" he asked, diverting her attention from the shattered vase. She blinked, looking away from the sidewalk.

"What – oh sure, of course!" she exclaimed, "Here, give that to me, I've got it, I promise." She grabbed the box from her nephew's hands and hurried off to put it inside the trailer. The three teenagers watched her with a worried expression, especially Peter.

Since the...incident, May was on the verge of a nervous breakdown around the clock. She always seemed chipper, but anyone who looked closely could see that her hands were always slightly shaking and her eyes were never focused. Sometimes she would forget to blink. Peter had told them that even though her shift at work hadn't changed, she always dragged herself to bed, exhausted. And she refused to let Peter go anywhere. Even in the house, she managed to baby-proof everything as if she was afraid Peter would hurt himself by opening the fridge too fast. She had become somewhat paranoid, but, honestly, who could blame her?

"Everyone grab a box!" May shouted, marching back inside. Sharing another look, the teenagers followed her inside and lifted up the last of the boxes. They stood at the door for a moment, looking around.

"I'm gonna miss this place," Ned said. Adelaide smiled. She had been here so many times that it was like her second home.

"Me too," she said quietly.

"There's so many memories here," May said quietly. Peter leaned his head on her shoulder and they all looked around for the last time.

"Bye, house," Peter said.

* * *

When Adelaide walked into the penthouse later that day, she was greeted by Tony and Happy shouting profanities at the football players on the tv. It was always nice to be welcomed so colorfully. She sighed, shaking her head and walking past them.

"Hey Adie, come on, look at how these losers are playing," Tony said without looking away from the screen. He had a can of beer in each hand and Adelaide suspected neither were very full.

"You IDIOT!" Happy shouted at the tv.

"I think I'll pass," she winced, walking into the kitchen where Pepper was on the phone.

She smiled at the teenager and held up a finger. Adelaide wandered over to the fridge and opened it up, peeking inside. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of all the packaged food. Did they have anything that wasn't processed in some factory? Closing the fridge, she decided to just grab an apple from the basket on the countertop. She bit into it, taking a seat on the high chairs and pulled out her phone while she waited for Pepper to finish her phone call.

She had a few messages from Peter and a missed call from Pepper probably to ask when she was coming home. She opened the text from Peter. It was a video of him sliding down the stairs on a sled.

' _Boys! I don't want either of you getting hurt!'_ Adelaide had to assume that that was May talking. She shook her head, smiling and bit into her apple again. Ned had decided to sleep over at Peter's new apartment and help with the unpacking. Adelaide would have stayed too, except she had been neglecting her homework for a while now and it had piled up to an unhealthy amount.

Just then, Pepper ended her phone call and turned to the teenager, taking a seat across from her at the counter.

"So how was the moving?" she asked. Adelaide shrugged.

"It was alright," she answered, "Their new apartment is nice, just the right size."

"TOUCHDOWN!"

They ignored the men, shaking their heads disapprovingly.

"Well I've got an important meeting early morning tomorrow," she said, standing up, "You'll be okay with ordering something for lunch, right?"

Adelaide bit into her apple, shrugging.

"Depends," she answered, "Last time I tried to order pizza and Tony didn't want it, he scared the delivery guy away and we ended up eating Chinese food instead."

Pepper shook her head, amused.

"I'm sure you'll be fine this time," she said, checking her watch, "Say, I've got some free time right now. You want to watch some tv of our own?"

Adelaide grinned, finishing off her apple. She jumped off her chair and threw the core away, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"I thought you'd never ask!" she grinned. Pepper hesitated.

"You don't have any homework...right?"

"Of course not," she lied, grinning. She would just do the homework later. What's a few more hours?

* * *

Later that night, Adelaide woke up with her stomach growling. She groaned and rolled over to look at the digital clock on her bedside table. It was three in the morning and she had school tomorrow. Well, today. She cursed at herself for getting hungry at the wrong time. Why couldn't she have gotten hungry before she went to sleep?

Her stomach rumbled again.

"Alright, alright…" she mumbled, pushing herself out of bed. She put her robe and slippers on before creeping out of her room silently. She could barely keep her eyes open as she walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Adelaide just hoped that she wouldn't trip over a table and break her nose in this darkness. Yawning, she just pulled her robe closer.

It had started to get warmer outside lately, but Pepper liked to keep it freakishly cold at night so every night, the penthouse would freeze over. They tried to complain but it was Pepper so no argument stood a chance. Adelaide shivered under her robe, cursing at herself for not thinking to just pull on a warm hoodie instead. She would just have to grab something and then run back to her room, under her warm covers.

She was in the middle of a yawn when her sleepy eyes caught sight of the light coming from the kitchen. Who was in the kitchen at this hour? What if it was a robber? But how the hell would a robber get inside their penthouse? They had maximum security throughout the entire Tower. There was no way someone could sneak in here. Still, just to be on the safe side, Adelaide grabbed an ornament off of the table next to her. In the dark, she had no idea what the hell it was, but it was long and pointy so it would have to do.

Taking careful, quiet steps, she approached the kitchen. She slowly peeked around the corner. It was a man and he was moving around in the kitchen as if it was his! He had a hoodie over his head and, from what Adelaide could see, he was...cooking something? Why the hell would a robber break into a penthouse at three in the morning to cook something? Something fishy was going on here…

Narrowing her eyes, she stepped closer to the intruder. She would just have to get close enough without him noticing and then whack him on the head hard enough so he passed out. Just a few more steps…

Adelaide raised the ornament in her hand, ready to bring it down on his head. Her hand moved forward just as he turned around, revealing his face. His eyes widened and he ducked to the side just in time.

"Tony!" she gasped, dropping the ornament on the floor with a loud clatter.

"Shh!" he whisper-shouted, bending over to pick up the ornament so it would stop rolling loudly on the floor, "Pepper's still asleep." Adelaide blinked at him, dumbfounded. Then, she was suddenly angry at him for scaring her.

"What the hell are you doing in the kitchen at this hour!" she whispered-shouted. He sighed, pushing the hoodie off of his head and stepping aside to reveal what he was working on. It was...a grilled cheese sandwich.

"You were making a _grilled cheese sandwich_... _at three in morning?_ "

"I got hungry, alright? Now I could ask, what are _you_ doing in the kitchen at this hour, kid?" he asked accusingly. She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest like an upset toddler.

"I was...I was hungry, okay! There, are you happy now?" she grumbled, dropping her arms to her sides. The grin on the billionaire's face told her that he was very happy and equally smug. She glared at the grilled cheese accusingly.

"Hypocrite," he muttered under his breath as he walked past her. Adelaide swiveled around.

"What did you –"

"What's going on?"

They both froze and turned around to see a very sleepy Pepper standing in the hallway, squinting in the light. Tony and Adelaide glanced at each other, unsure. Pepper sniffed, frowning.

"What's that smell?" she asked, looking around. Tony's eyes widened and he jumped towards the grilled cheese sandwich that now very much resembled charcoal to Adelaide's extreme satisfaction. Ha! Maybe the billionaire wasn't good at everything after all.

"That would be Adelaide's grilled cheese sandwich," Tony said swiftly, opening up the trash can with his foot, "She's a terrible cook."

Adelaide gritted her teeth. She was a terrible cook, yes, but she did not burn that sandwich! Pepper wrinkled her nose at the smell and stepped into the kitchen, sighing. She yawned and then the billionaire and teenager couldn't help but yawn too. Yawning was annoyingly contagious.

"Give that to me," Pepper said, snatching the spoon from the billionaire's hand. She looked at the spoon and then at Tony, raising an eyebrow. He grinned, lifting up one shoulder carelessly.

"I couldn't find the spatula…" he mumbled. Rolling her eyes, she tossed the spoon in the sink and pulled out a spatula from the drawers that Tony was standing in front of. Tony and Adelaide shared a look. They both felt slightly guilty since they knew Pepper had to wake up early for an important meeting tomorrow. Well, today. It was too early for technicalities.

"So how did you...wake up?" Adelaide asked.

"I heard a crash," she mumbled. Tony grinned at the teenager and his face seemed to say _Ha! See? It was all your fault._ She rolled her eyes and took a seat at the high chairs. Tony sat down across from her, getting his plate ready in front of him. Soon, Pepper put a grilled cheese in both plates and even made one for herself and joined them at the counter.

"Mmmm, this is perfect," Adelaide mumbled. Tony nodded, his mouth full.

"Dhish shish sho good," he mumbled as he devoured his sandwich.

"Sorry about waking you up…" Adelaide muttered, swallowing, "I thought Tony was a thief and, well, I tried to hit him and…"

Pepper chuckled, biting into her sandwich.

"I'm not even going to ask," she laughed, "But I would have liked to see that."

"I can't believe she thought I was a thief," Tony laughed, "What did you think I was doing?"

Adelaide felt her face turning red from embarrassment. In her defence, she was still half-asleep.

"Well, I thought you were...cooking," she mumbled.

"Cooking?" he laughed, "So you thought a thief broke into the Tower to make himself food? There's better places to rob for food, you know."

Adelaide glared at him.

"I was sleepy, alright! And who wears a hoodie indoors?"

"My ears were cold," he shrugged and Adelaide rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her sandwich to calm herself down.

By the time they were all finished with their sandwiches (and teasing of a certain teenager), their sleepiness had completely vanished. Instead of heading back to bed and trying to fall asleep again, they huddled up on the couch for warmth and watched tv until the first rays of sun started peeking through the sky.

"Come on, you guys, I really have to go," Pepper said. Adelaide and Tony had squished her between them and there was no way she could get up unless they moved. Adelaide shared a look with Tony and grabbed Pepper's arm, closing in on her and barely giving her room to breathe.

"Seriously!" Pepper laughed, "I really have to get up!"

"As long as you make us coffee before you leave," Adelaide negotiated.

"What she said," Tony said. Pepper rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Fine, fine! I'll make you both coffee," she agreed, "Now get off me!"

They let go of her and she bounced up immediately, afraid they would hold her back again. Shaking her head and laughing to herself, she disappeared down the hall. Adelaide let her head fall back onto the couch just as the team made a goal on the tv. Somewhere along the way, Tony had switched it from football to soccer and now they were watching reruns of a match.

"I hate going to school," she groaned, staring at the ceiling. Tony was too sucked up in the match to even hear a word she was saying. She turned her head to look at him. He was sitting with his legs propped up on the table in front of him, the tv remote in his hand. Adelaide smirked, getting an idea. She sat up slowly and subtly shifted towards him.

In a flash, she snatched the remote from his hands and jumped over the couch.

"Wha - Hey! Give me that!" he shouted. Adelaide laughed and switched the tv off. Suddenly, he jumped over the couch too and started chasing her. Laughing, she sprinted down the hall and locked herself in her room before he could catch her. He pounded at the door.

"Don't make my robot come and break down that door," he threatened. Adelaide rolled her eyes, tossing the remote onto her bed.

"If Pepper and I have to get dressed, so do you," she shouted back. She could hear him grumbling something on the other side and her grin widened.

"You'll pay for that…" he muttered and then walked away. Laughing to herself, she stepped into the bathroom and started getting dressed for school.

* * *

Adelaide hit her head against her locker, groaning. Peter and Ned shared an amused look.

"Tired?" Peter asked, a smile playing on his lips. Adelaide didn't lift her head off of her locker.

"You have no idea," she groaned, pushing herself off with her hand. She lazily twisted the dial on her locker. Peter leaned against the locker next to hers, grinning. She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He pointed to Ned and she turned around to look at him.

Slowly, her eyes traveled down to his arm. In a cast. His arm, in a cast. Ned's arm...in a _cast_.

"What the hell happened!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. The boys both just laughed like this happened daily.

"We were tobogganing down the stairs and then the sled flipped over and I landed on my arm," Ned said proudly, "It was totally worth it."

"Aunt May screamed our ears off the whole time," Peter said, "It was hilarious."

Adelaide rolled her eyes and grabbed her textbooks from her locker before closing it again. She gave both of them a pointed look.

"You both," she said, "are idiots."

The warning bell rang and they headed to class, Peter making his way upstairs. After watching tv with Pepper last night, Adelaide had completely forgotten to catch up on her homework. Of course, Mr. Hans didn't let her hear the end of it until the bell rang once again and it was time for gym. Ned was over the moon that he would be excused from that class until his arm healed. Clearly, gym was not his favorite subject. Adelaide was indifferent. If it wasn't for Coach Graves, she might have actually liked it.

After Peter joined them in the hallway, they headed towards the gymnasium. They pushed open the double doors and separated into the locker rooms to change into their gym clothes. Except Ned, of course. He went straight to the bleachers and sat down. Adelaide had never seen him look so happy in the gymnasium. Well, there was a first time for everything.

She had been late changing because she couldn't find her other sock. By the time she finally got out of the locker room, the class was already gathered around Coach Graves. Suppressing a groan, she forced her feet towards him. She just needed to tolerate him for a little while, she told herself.

"Today is dodgeball day," he said, casually tossing a ball in the air while talking, "There will be two teams. My class and Coach Bale's class. Team up!"

Everyone shuffled to the right side of the gym, getting in position. If there was one game Adelaide hated the most, it was dodgeball. It was so entirely pointless. People who got hit with a dodgeball usually never left the game and it almost always ended in a fight. The game itself was lame, anyway. She would much rather prefer to run laps around the track which was something Coach Graves often punished students with if they refused to participate. Except for her, of course. He never punished her for some reason. In fact, Adelaide _wanted_ him to punish her just so he would be like a normal coach. But it was just her rotten luck that he had to always look like he knew something she didn't. Which, he probably did.

"You think Ned's going to be okay?" she asked Peter, "I mean, by himself while everyone's playing."

This earned her a laugh from Peter.

"I don't think I've ever seen him look so relieved," Peter said and Adelaide followed his gaze to their friend sitting on the bleachers. Well, she had to admit Peter was right. He didn't look even slightly disappointed that he was missing out. Regardless, Adelaide made a mental note to check up on him every few minutes. No one would miss her in the game anyway.

Coach Bale blew the whistle and then the wild running and throwing started. Adelaide threw the ball aimlessly, not really targeting anyone. Every once in a while, her gaze wandered to Ned who was excitedly watching the game. He waved at her. Just then, a ball came at her and she ducked just in time before it hit her in the face. Her eyes scanned the opposite team accusingly, looking for the culprit. She raised her arm and threw the ball again, hitting someone this time. Like she had predicted, he pretended like the ball hadn't hit him and kept playing.

Adelaide rolled her eyes and started searching for another ball. She found one that had just rolled against the wall and picked it up. Tossing the ball in her hand, she wondered if she could throw this ball at someone hard enough for it to hurt. She knew exactly who she would want to throw it at and she knew perfectly well how to make it look like an accident.

Her narrowed eyes scanned the room for Coach Graves. Just as she spotted him standing in his own secluded corner of the gym, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Ned waving his hand at her from the bleachers, trying to catch her attention. She turned her head to look at him, losing sight of Coach Graves. Ned gestured for her to come towards him and she did.

"What's up?" she breathed, slightly out of breath from running.

"I gave my backpack to Peter to put in the locker room, but I left my water bottle in it and I don't want to try to cross the gym with this…" he trailed off, raising his cast, "I would ask Peter, but I know how much he loves this game." Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"I have no idea why he loves this game so much," she said, looking for him in the crowd, "It's so pointless." Ned chuckled.

"That's why I asked you," he laughed. Adelaide nodded, understanding.

"I'll go get it," she said, jogging down the bleachers.  
She looked across the gym, where the boys' locker room was. Normally, a girl would never be allowed in there and Adelaide didn't have any wish to be in there, ever. But at the moment, everyone was out here, playing dodgeball so she reckoned it was safe to go in there. Her eyes caught sight of the corner in which Coach Graves had been standing in not so long ago. He was gone now. Curiously, her eyes swept around the gym but she couldn't see him anywhere. She shrugged to herself. She had been looking forward to hitting him with a dodgeball today but there was always next time.

She pushed herself through the crowd, trying not to run into anyone or accidentally get hit by a ball. When she finally got to the locker room, she realized she still had a dodgeball in her hand. Adelaide dropped it and pushed the door open, letting herself inside. She had never been in the boy's' locker room before, but there wasn't anything special about it. It was just the mirror image of the girls' locker room.

Sighing, she walked down the lockers, trying to find Ned's backpack. Finally, she found it sitting on the floor, underneath a locker. Crouching down, she quickly found the water bottle and stood up again. Just as she was turning on her heel to leave, she heard a sound coming from the back of the locker room.

 _Tap, tap, tap!_

Adelaide froze, tightly clutching the water bottle in her hand. Slowly and stealthily, she took quiet footsteps towards the sound, stopping right in front of a door in the back of the locker room.

Adelaide looked around. There was no one else here. The sound came again, but, this time, it was the sound of a man's voice and it was coming from behind that door. Frantically, Adelaide tried to find a place to hide. Her eyes fell on the open locker behind her and she quickly stepped inside, closing it. The locker door had many holes in it, like a grid so it didn't completely hide her. She suddenly remembered that she could turn invisible and she silently cursed at herself for not remembering earlier.

Quickly, she turned herself invisible. Just in time, too because it was at that second that the door opened and a man stepped outside. Adelaide narrowed her eyes. Through the holes in locker door, she could clearly see everything. And she could see who the man was: Coach Graves. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. He was talking on the phone, she realized.

"Try me," he hissed into the phone. He looked angry.

Adelaide realized that, despite his horrible personality, she had never seen him actually get angry. Most of the time, he looked annoyed or bored. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear what the other person said so she had to make do with this side of the conversation.

"Don't worry about the money," he said. Adelaide narrowed her eyes. Money…?

"I'll tell her when she agrees to see me," he growled. She? Agrees to meet him? Adelaide felt her brain struggling to keep up.

"Fuck off," he said and then ended the phone call angrily.

He looked around the locker room. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the locker she was hiding inside of and Adelaide began to panic until she remembered that she was invisible. Grunting, he walked out of the locker room, leaving the door swinging behind him.

Adelaide counted to ten before she stepped out of the locker. For a very long moment, she just stood there, staring at the floor, and trying to calculate the situation that had just occurred. Her brain was lagging as she was trying to make sense of what she had just heard.

Suddenly, the bell rang. The door swung open and boys ran into the locker room, shouting and laughing and already taking their shirts off. They all froze and fell silent when they saw a girl standing in the middle of the boys' locker room.

Adelaide smiled.

"Oops," she said, "looks like I'm in the wrong room."

She took advantage of their shock and pushed herself through the crowd and out of the room before they could say anything.

The bell rang again and she realized that she would just have to think about the locker room situation later.

* * *

 **A/N: Soooo what do you think that was all about? *smirk smirk* I guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter...**

 **Alright so here's the question for today...**

 ** _Question: What country are you from?_ I'm from the US, as you can probably tell by my word choice lol.**


	38. Chapter 37

**A/N: Hey I'm uploading in under two weeks _and_ college is still rolling! I've gotta say, I've impressed myself. Honestly, it took me longer to edit it than write it lmao. **

**So. Last chapter. Quick recap. Ned broke his arm, Adelaide thought Tony was a thief who broke into the Stark Tower at 3 in the morning to make food (something I'd do lol) and then Adie overheard Coach Graves talking to...who? I guess you'll find out in this chapter ;)**

 **Now about this chapter...I originally wrote it and I realized that a whole lot happened in the chapter so then I split it into two chapters. I guess it works out because it builds suspense and whatever. I don't know, I hope splitting it was a good decision but we'll see. Anyway, in this chapter, Adelaide figures out what Coach Graves is really up to and we get to see a little Spider-Man in action so yay! Also, there's this one super cute scene between Adie and Peter. Like, they don't kiss or anything, but it's still super cute. Is it just me or is it sometimes a hundred times more cute when the characters don't even kiss but they're doing like a bunch of other cutesy stuff? I don't know, I think I'm going crazy. That would definitely explain a lot.**

 **On a side note, I had to give a speech tomorrow in my communications class but GUESS WHAT? WE GOT A SNOW DAY AND THERE'S NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! *happy dance* I'm honestly so relieved, I hate giving speeches because I always start rambling and then mumbling and then it's just a downwards spiral from there. Another side note, I should probably be studying for my biology test instead of working on this chapter but whatever. I'm used to cramming anyway.**

 **MY EYES ARE BURNING SO BADLY. I seriously need to cut down on my screen time. Like, yikes I spend wayyyy too much time in front of a laptop or phone. It's probably not very good for my eyes...**

 **Without further ado, I present to you Chapter 37!**

 _ **Aunknowntimelord: You've met Jenna Coleman? That's seriously so cool! I've never met a celebrity in real life which sucks big time because I have a whole list of people I would literally kill to meet :/ Also, it's really cool that you're from Australia! I have some family that lives over there and I've always wanted to visit it someday. My parents are obsessed with it lol. And I agree with you, time zones are freakyyy.**_

 **Thank you to: _BrigitteHere, Aunknowntimelord, DifferenceToMe, and SamanthaCarterONeil_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! It honestly surprises me that people are actually reading my work because I'm my worst critic and I always think it sucks but YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY AWESOME!**

* * *

 _"Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a great show!"_

* * *

Adelaide struggled to pay attention in any of her classes for the rest of the day. Her mind was wandering to what she had heard Coach Graves talking about in the locker room. He had said something about money...and meeting a woman? What did it even mean? Adelaide realized that there was the possibility that he was meeting a woman for a date, but then she remembered the part about the money and shook the idea away. This wasn't about a date. No, this was about a _meeting_.

Of course, that made so much more sense. He was meeting a woman and he had money to offer her...But in exchange for what? What was it that he wanted in return and who was that woman? Without those two pieces, this whole thing didn't make any sense.

She could try to guess...Adelaide didn't really know Coach Graves all that well, but he constantly had this...thing around him that gave her the feeling that he wasn't exactly a saint. For one, there was that eye patch. Adelaide had only seen one other man wearing an eye patch and he was director of SHIELD. Despite that, Nick Fury had committed a few crimes of his own. She knew she shouldn't judge by the looks, but it was really hard to not suspect Coach Graves of something dark when he had that eye patch on.

If she was to think along the lines of something dark and illegal, there was a million ways this could go and she didn't like any of them. Or maybe it was something harmless and he was just buying a rare painting from the woman or something. She liked that possibility.

Adelaide tapped her fingers in a furious staccato rhythm against the side of her desk, sighing in frustration. There was no way to tell what the meeting was for. She would never know.

Unless…

What if she followed him to the meeting? Adelaide quickly threw that idea away. For one, she had no idea when or where it was. And second, what if she was just overreacting? That was always a possibility. Besides, she had hardly enough information to build a guess from. It was maddening.

"Shh," Peter said, glaring at her fingers that were still noisily tapping her desk. Glancing around, she could tell he wasn't the only one she was bothering. Biting her lip, she pulled her hand back and stuffed it in her pockets to keep herself from starting tapping something else again.

"What's bothering you?" Peter asked, glancing away from the teacher and at her for a moment. Adelaide chewed the inside of her cheek.

 _Everything's fine, I'm just slightly concerned that our gym coach might actually be a serial killer but I'm not really sure because I couldn't hear everything while I was eavesdropping on his phone call in the boys' locker room._

For a split moment, Adelaide wondered what he would do if she said that. He would probably think she was crazy and not believe a word. Maybe she should tell him just for the heck of it…

"Ada?" he whispered, looking at her with a genuinely concerned expression, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she lied, "Everything's a-okay."

"Peter, Adelaide, I hope you aren't talking because this lesson is really important," Mrs. London said from the front of the classroom. Peter swiftly looked away and smiled.

"Sorry, ma'am. We're paying attention," he said.

She nodded, satisfied and resumed her lecture. From the corner of her eye, Adelaide could see Peter ripping out a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbling something down. When Mrs. London wasn't looking, he discreetly slid the paper onto her desk.

Adelaide unfolded it, reading the little note scribbled inside.

 _What's wrong?_

She sighed, reconsidering telling him the truth. Better crazy than a liar, right? Sighing again, she pulled out her pencil and scribbled down an answer.

 _It's not a big deal, seriously. Don't worry about it._

After a second, she added a smiley face at the end for good measure and then folded the note up again, passing it to him.

He frowned when he read it, but, before he could say anything in reply, the bell rang, dismissing them. Adelaide stood up hastily, stuffing her books in her backpack as fast as she could. She just wanted to get home and get her hands on her laptop again and squeeze out as much information as she could about Coach Graves.

Her fingers were already tingling with anticipation. A moment later, she realized that her fingers were not the only things feeling...tingly. She bit her lip, glancing at the clock on the wall. Happy would be here any minute now but she wouldn't be able to hold it in until then.

She had to go the bathroom. Now.

"See you tomorrow guys!" she told Ned and Peter before running out the door. It took her longer than usual to get to the bathroom since practically the entire school was walking in the opposite direction, but somehow she managed to get there just before her bladder bursted.

After she washed her hands at the sink, she didn't even bother drying them. She quickly picked up her backpack and began heading towards the exit. She was just turning the corner when a thought struck her midstep. Her eyes darted around the hall. Most of the lights were off by now and it was deserted.

Turning around, she let her curiosity get the best of her as she sprinted down the hall, towards Coach Graves' office. His office was the only one in this hall of the school. Adelaide stopped and pressed herself against the wall, peeking carefully around the corner. He was still in his office, but he looked like he was about to leave. She quickly turned herself invisible before he spotted her. Then, slowly and quietly, she tiptoed towards his office and pressed herself against the wall right next to his door.

Everything was silent. No one was in this part of the school or in this dimly-lit hallway. Adelaide held her breath, not daring to make a sound. She could hear the adrenaline pumping in her veins and she just hoped that he wouldn't hear how loudly her heart was pounding at the moment. It suddenly hit her how stupid this idea was but it was too late now. She knew her curiosity would end up killing her one day.

A few seconds later, he stepped out of his office and Adelaide heard the jingling of keys in his hand. She stopped breathing. He was standing right next to her and any sort of sound would give her away instantly. From up close, he smelled like cigarettes and cheap perfume. She refrained herself from wrinkling her nose in disgust – she could do that later.

He took his time to lock the door and when he was done, he stuffed the keys in his pocket and shook the handle just to make sure that it was locked. Luckily, he gave no indication that he knew she was standing right there and quickly walked away. Adelaide didn't breathe until she was sure his footsteps were gone.

Then, she let out a shuddering breath and turned herself visible again. She took a second to catch her breath but not too much because she was afraid that he would come back any second. Working swiftly like a true criminal, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a credit card. She didn't have a bobby pin this time so this would just have to do. Sliding the card in the crack between the door and the wall, she turned the handle and _viola!_ she was inside. This school really needed better locks.

Who was she to be complaining, anyway? This was the second time that she had broken into a locked room in this school just this semester and these terrible locks definitely made it easier. In her hurry, she almost left her backpack outside but luckily she remembered it just before she went inside and hoisted it up on her shoulder.

She was in the room...now what? Adelaide stood by the door, looking around the dark office. It was a relatively small office, maybe 4 steps in every direction (3 for the coach) and that was it. There was a small window in the wall across from her but the blinds were shut and opening them would draw too much attention. To her left was a standard desk that looked identical to all of the desks teachers at this school had and directly across from that, in the corner to her right, was a file cabinet.

His office looked nothing out of the ordinary except for one detail that she would have easily missed if she wasn't suspicious to begin with. The office was bare. She had been in other teachers' offices before and they usually had pictures of their kids or posters on the wall or even just a doormat to personalize their space. But Coach Graves' office was completely and utterly bare. There was no indication about his life outside of this school at all. No evidence. And that was definitely suspicious.

But a nagging voice in her head told her that it could very easily be because he wasn't a sentimental man and he hated his job and this office. Adelaide decided to ignore that voice in her head because she was already here and there was no point in going back without snooping around a little. Dropping her backpack on the floor, she quickly pulled out her phone to shoot Happy a text that she would be a few minutes late and then she switched it off so it wouldn't accidentally ring.

Surfacing the familiar tingling feeling to her veins and then her fingertips, she brought her hands together and created a small, glowing orb of light by pulling some from the hallway outside. It was just enough so she would be able to see her way around the office but not draw attention to herself.

Adelaide decided to start searching the desk first since she assumed he sat there all day. Going behind the desk with the orb following after her, she sat down in the chair. There was only one large and thin drawer under the length of the desk. Just her luck that it wasn't locked.

She quietly pulled it open, not very surprised to see that there was only a keyboard, a mouse, a blank notebook, and a pad of sticky notes inside. She was about to close it again when her eyes fell on the sticky notes. The one on top was mostly blank except for the few words that had bled through from the previous note that had been on top of it.

She brought the glowing orb closer so she could read the words on it. Adelaide squinted, hard.

 _T...row...Tow...Chelsea...12...10018_

Huh? What the hell did that mean? Was Chelsea the name of the woman he was meeting with? And what was with all the numbers?

Suddenly, she heard faint footsteps outside. In a heartbeat, she had turned herself invisible. Quickly, she swiped the sticky note and stuffed in her pocket before making the glowing orb disappear. Slowly, she peeked through the window in the door, into the hallway. The footsteps were gone and there was no one there.

Still, she had no intention of lingering around in his office anymore. She grabbed her backpack and hurried out of the office, locking it behind herself.

Just to be safe, she stayed invisible until she went into the bathroom again. Then, she made herself visible again and walked out like nothing happened.

* * *

The whole ride home, Adelaide was silent, lost in her thoughts. She wanted to pull the sticky note out of her pocket and look at it right now but she knew it was best to wait until she was alone, in her room.

The moment she arrived at the penthouse, she rushed to her room, not even bothering to find Tony and force him to order pizza for lunch. He was probably in his lab which at the opposite side of the penthouse. She dropped her backpack on her rug at the foot of her bed and then crawled onto the bed itself with her laptop. Quickly, she flipped it open and pulled out the sticky note from her pocket.

 _T...row...Tow...Chelsea...12...10018_

There wasn't much written on there that was legible and clear except for _Chelsea_ and _10018._ Adelaide knew that if she searched up Chelsea, it would give her a million results and she had no idea what she was even looking for. So she typed the number into the search box instead. Maybe the number meant something…

The first result that popped up was a postal code: 10018. And it was right here, in New York. Adelaide sat back, chewing the inside of her cheek while staring at the sticky note thoughtfully. A postal code meant an address...What if this whole thing was an address?

Adelaide read over the words again, this time with a new perspective. She decided to look up _Chelsea, 10018_ and the results did not disappoint. She suddenly realized that Chelsea wasn't the name of the woman Coach Graves was meeting. Chelsea was a neighborhood in the west side of Manhattan and it had a reputation for drug lords and dealers. Everybody knew that.

So did that mean Coach Graves…Was he going there to buy _drugs_? Is _that_ what the money was for? Is the woman he was talking about a... _a drug dealer_?

Adelaide didn't know what to think. Her high school gym coach did drugs...For some reason, Adelaide didn't feel as surprised as she should have. Sure, she had been quick to judge him but she hadn't been wrong. He was going to Chelsea to buy drugs! If that wasn't an obvious to suspect him, she didn't know what was.

But then, a small voice in the back of her head reminded her that there was the possibility that he was going there for another reason. Somehow, that wasn't exactly reassuring. There was only one way to know the truth and it would be to follow him there.

Besides, she hadn't been on a real adventure since...since well, her flash drive had been erased. She had tried to keep searching for the culprit but every trail she followed was a dead end. This was something. Maybe it had nothing to do with the murder of her parents which she had been trying to solve relentlessly, but it could do her alter ego a little good to break a drug deal. That's what her powers were for, right? To keep people safe.

 _You couldn't save your parents…_

Adelaide tightened her jaw, grinding her teeth. She didn't need to think about that right now. Right now, she needed to focus on following her high school gym coach to wherever he was going and catch him red handed. If he wasn't going there to buy drugs, then she would forget the whole thing and drop it. But if he was...well, she wasn't sure what she should do then. But she could decide that when the time came.

For now, she just had to figure out when and where exactly he was going. She looked at the sticky note again. Now that she knew this was an address, she replaced the _12_ with 12th Ave. Then she searched up the whole thing together: _Tow, 12th Ave, Chelsea, 10018._

It was a tow pound. He was going to a tow pound. Now that definitely sounded sketchy. Why would anyone want to go to a tow pound all the way in Chelsea if it wasn't for a drug deal? Adelaide highly doubted he was interested in admiring towed cars. She sighed, sitting back again.

She now knew where he was going but the question of when was still annoying her like a hungry fruit fly. Adelaide looked at the sticky note again. She had figured out most of it except for the _T...row_ at the beginning.

She squinted, trying to figure it out. If _T...row_ indicated the when of the meeting then it must mean...tomorrow! It said tomorrow!

 _Tomorrow, Tow Pound, Chelsea 12 Ave. 10018_

She had figured it out! She had actually figured out the whole message! Adelaide grinned, falling back onto her bed. She was going to follow Coach Graves tomorrow and she was going to figure out what he was really up to.

* * *

They were at Peter's new apartment, hanging out in his room and testing video games. By 'they', she meant her and Ned and Peter and by 'testing video games', she meant actually just playing them but since May had told Peter to clean, he told her that he was going to test all of his video games to make sure none of them were damaged during the move. A lame excuse, really, but Adelaide didn't argue.

She was currently laying on his bed, tossing and catching a ball against the wall while the two boys played on the tv that they had temporarily hooked up in the corner of the room. Adelaide had no idea how Ned was managing to actually beat Peter even with one arm wrapped in a cast but she knew better than to ask.

The room itself was a mess. Boxes were strewn all over the room, some half-open and emptied, others still taped shut. There was a small closet on the opposite wall from the bed and just one window. Peter had decided to keep the bunk bed for now, but judging by the size of the room, he would probably switch it out for a regular bed. Of course, this room was much smaller than his old one but Peter seemed happy about it.

Adelaide chose to sit on the bed since it was the only place in the room that seemed semi-clean. And by 'semi-clean', she meant that there weren't dirty socks or garbage on it. How boys managed to get their rooms so filthy, Adelaide would never understand.

"I'm bored, you guys," she groaned, still throwing the ball against the wall repeatedly.

"Hey bored, I'm Peter," he joked.

He ducked just in time to avoid the ball coming at his head and then fell into a fit of laughter. Adelaide groaned again, throwing her head back dramatically. Great. Now she didn't even have a ball to throw at the wall.

"Seriously, come on," she whined. Neither of the boys moved their eyes from the screen. It was as if the video game was more important than her. Adelaide scowled.

"You can unpack the rest of the boxes if you're that bored," Peter said without looking away. She rolled her eyes. Yeah, like she was going to do his work for him while he played video games.

"I'm serious!" she said.

"Hi serious, I'm –"

The pillow got him in the back of the head this time to Adelaide's satisfaction. She propped herself up on her elbow, ready to throw more pillows when Ned's phone suddenly rang.

 _Ah, saved by the bell._

"It's my mom," he said, standing up, "I'll be right back."

Peter finally paused the game and right on time, too, because Adelaide just had had the brilliant idea of pulling the plug from the tv. Which, if they started playing when Ned came back, she might have to do just that.

Putting his controller down on the floor, he rolled his chair over to the bed where Adelaide was currently sulking.

"Come on," he said, poking her ribs, "I'm sorry."

She glared at him accusingly. He was the one to call her over and then he and Ned started playing by themselves, leaving her to be bored. Of course she was mad.

"I'll never make those jokes again?" he offered. She grunted. He grinned, knowing he was getting to her.

"We can do whatever you want," he said, "As long as we don't have to watch that horrible show again."

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a great show!" she shouted, feeling personally offended. Peter just rolled his eyes.

"No it's not, it's a terrible show with non-witty humor and no – hey!" he said, grabbing the pillow that had just hit him in the face, "What was that for!"

"Say it," she grinned, grabbing another pillow, "It's a good show and you love it, just admit it."

He grinned, clutching the pillow in his hand.

"It's a horrible show and I hate it."

Adelaide hit him in the face again with a pillow, but she barely had time to laugh before he got her back. Laughing, she fell to the floor but she didn't care. She sat up and hit him again, knocking him off his chair as well. He hit her shoulder and she retaliated by hitting his stomach. He whacked her in the head again with the pillow and she fell back in a fit of laughter.

"Admit it!" she said, trying to hit him again but he had the advantage sitting upright. He hit her again on her sides.

"No you admit that it's a horrible show!" he said, laughing. Adelaide took his distractedness to her advantage and hit him in the stomach with her pillow, making him roll over too. At this point, they were both laughing way too hard to even try to sit up again. They laid there next to each other, on the carpet, trying to catch their breath and stop laughing.

"You never make me watch it and I'll never say how horrible it is," he smiled, holding up his hand for a handshake. Adelaide looked from his hand to his face, still laughing lightly. Shaking her head, she took his hand and shook it.

Their eyes met. His chocolate brown eyes were crinkled at the corners, caught in the midst of laughter. Ever since Ben died, Peter hadn't been able to enjoy himself freely without feeling guilty. Adelaide could always see it in his eyes whenever he smiled or laughed. He was always holding back. He never said anything, but she knew. She knew he was still hurting. She knew he was just pretending to be fine so that May wouldn't have to worry about him. It crushed Adelaide that there was nothing she could do to help him but she knew this was a battle he had to fight on his own.

"Deal," she breathed and they both grinned.

For a moment, they just sat there like that, holding hands and grinning at each other while catching their breath. Three months ago, they were barely able to sit in the same room as each other without feeling awkward. But now things were better between them. They were okay.

Suddenly, Ned walked into the room, his phone call evidently over. He looked between the two and then at the pillows strewn across the floor.

"Er...did I miss something?" he asked. Adelaide and Peter shared a knowing look and then sat up, grabbing a pillow for themselves.

"Pillow fight!" Peter shouted and then they both started throwing pillows at Ned, laughing.

"Hey! Mmfl! Not – fair!" Ned tried to say as they attacked him with pillows, "I have a – mmflb! – cast!"

In the end, he gave up and then joined them, throwing pillows with his good arm while rolling on the floor and laughing.

* * *

"I think I'm going to hit the hay now," Aunt May said, stifling a yawn. Peter glanced up from the tv, looking at the clock hanging on the wall behind his aunt. A rush of excitement shot through him: it was time. He faked a yawn, stretching his arms out.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go to bed too," he said, switching off the tv right before the huge alien shot a laser beam at the earth. Oh well, he had better things to do. Standing up, he followed Aunt May down the hall to his room.

"Goodnight Peter," she said, her hand on doorknob to her room. Peter smiled.

"Night Aunt May," he said and pushed the door to his room open. He was halfway through the door when May suddenly stopped him.

"You have your night light on, right?" she asked, "I don't want you tripping over anything in dark."

Ever since the...accident, Aunt May had grown very protective of him. It was understandable; he was the only family she had left and vice versa. As much as it bothered him to be treated like a child, he couldn't complain. She had every right to be paranoid. So Peter never argued.

"Yeah, it's on," he assured her.

"Sweet dreams," she smiled softly and then slipped into her room, closing the door behind herself.

The first month had been the hardest. Neither Peter or May wanted to let each other out of their sight. It was like living in their worst nightmare and it didn't get any better when they were asleep, either. The nightmare continued, only even worse. Peter only had two dreams since the night of the accident. In the first one, someone close to him died and it was always his fault. In the second one, he caught Uncle Ben's killer and shot him between the eyes. The second dream might not sound like a nightmare, except Uncle Ben's killer always got to Uncle Ben before Peter could kill him. He was always a second too late. Every. Single. Time.

Peter knew that Aunt May wasn't having the best of dreams either. In that first month, they always shared a bed to give each other comfort. It never worked, of course. They both tossed and turned relentlessly in their sleep and sometimes May would even shout something in her sleep, jerking Peter awake.

On the worst nights, they both kept each other from falling asleep, shaking each other awake if their eyes threatened to close. They needed to sleep, but at what cost? Falling asleep would mean submitting to the nightmares and Peter didn't know how many more times he could watch the people he loved die.

So they both found a temporary solution to their problem.

For Aunt May, Peter got her a hypnotizing disc that playing soothing sounds and kept the nightmares away. It didn't work every night, but she was getting better.

As for Peter…

Stepping into his room, the teenager closed the door behind himself. He glanced at his bed. He had stuffed pillows underneath his blanket so if May came to check on him, she wouldn't notice he was gone.

He pulled open his closet, digging through the boxes and piles of clothes in the dark until his hands grabbed something familiar. Grinning, he pulled his arm back, with his hand now holding a very familiar red and blue spandex suit.

Peter had designed the suit himself, picking the colors after the spider that had bit him. On his chest, there was a small black spider. He was most proud of his mask. It had taken a while, but he created the lenses on the mask to help him focus when he was out being Spider-Man. Sometimes, his senses overwhelmed him and the lenses that he had designed shut out the extra noise.

Quickly and quietly, he changed into the suit. Glancing behind himself at the door one last time, he pushed open the window and jumped out into the dark streets of New York.

Although Peter's number one priority was to catch Uncle Ben's killer, ever since his uncle had died, Peter had made the decision to be a neighborhood superhero.

A friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.

He shot his web at the glass window of the next building and then swung himself to the rooftop. Landing with a soft thud, he steadied himself enough to stand up again. In the past two months that he had started being Spider-Man every night, he had stopped a total of 27 small robberies, 12 car thieves, and 1 sidewalk licker. Peter didn't think that that last man had been breaking the law exactly, but he showed him to a hospital anyway. Who knew what he had digested from that sidewalk?

But tonight, he was on the lookout for the killer. Aside from how he looked, the only other thing that Peter knew about that man was that he had a star tattooed on his left wrist. He had caught several thieves and suspicious people lingering in dark alleys, but none of them had a tattoo on their left wrist. Hence, none of them were Uncle Ben's killer.

Suddenly, Peter heard the sound of a woman shouting from the alley across the street. His vision narrowed in and he spotted two figures: a woman and a thief holding a purse. In a flash, he was swinging off the building and he landed right behind the thief. At the sound of his footsteps hitting the pavement, the thief turned around, raising his gun to shoot.

The man hesitated when he came face to face with a masked...well, the thief didn't know _what_ he was exactly. Peter cocked his head casually.

"Hi."

"Uh, what are you supposed to be?" the thief asked, scratching his head, "Did I miss Halloween or something?"

Peter rolled his eyes behind his mask. Even after stopping so many robberies and a street licker, people still didn't know him. He sighed, shaking his head. He needed to do something big to get people's attention, to let them know that he was there to help them.

"I'm Spider-Man," Peter explained. The thief raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the woman who had paled significantly.

"Is this some kind of joke?" the thief asked, lowering his gun. Big mistake. Peter sighed.

"Sorry about this," he said and then knocked the gun out of the man's hand, catching it before it hit the pavement. Before the thief could realized what was going on, Peter had him pinned down. He shot his webs at the thief's wrists, effectively tying them up. Peter stepped back to admire his work.

The thief scrambled up, trying to run away.

"No way, Jose," Peter said, shooting another web at his feet and pinning him to the brick wall. He tried struggling to escape but it was useless. The webs weren't going to dissolve for two hours so he would have time to think about his actions. Peter walked up to him, closely inspecting his left wrist. No tattoo. He muttered a curse under his breath. False alarm, again.

"I'll take that, thank you," Peter said, snatching the purse from the thief's hands. Turning around, he gently handed it to the lady who had finally regained some color on her face.

"Th-Thank you," she said, "But I don't know…"

"Just call me Spider-Man," Peter said, shooting a web up, "Tell your friends!"

Just then, his web pulled him up to the roof of the building and he was out of sight.

"Good job, Peter," he muttered to himself before swinging to the next building.

* * *

 **A/N: As you can probably tell, I am OBSESSED with Brooklyn Nine-Nine lmao. And, now, so is Adie :P You know what they say, like author, like character.**

 **Anyway so a lot of things went down! Do you think Coach Graves is really going to Chelsea for drugs or, better yet, is he even really going to Chelsea? Did Adelaide really even decipher it correctly? Questions, questions, so many unanswered questions. It's times like this when I love being the author lmao.**

 **Also, wasn't that scene between Peter and Adie just so freaking cute! I didn't want things to accelerate too fast because Uncle Ben just died like three months ago for crying out loud. I'm not really sure yet, but I'm planning on something happening between Peter and Adie before Civil War kicks in...not entirely sure though because I have a little something else planned...**

 ** _Question: How is the pace of this story? Too fast? Too slow?_ _Just right?_ A lot of times I feel like I'm breezing through the plot super quickly and I don't really like that because I've always preferred a slow burn type of story. But since I'm writing this one, it's hard for me to make the judgement so that's why I'm asking lol. **

**A little gift for being so incredibly patient for the uploads, I have a preview of the next chapter for you guys :))**

 _ **"Silently, she changed herself into her Blue Phantom alias and then turned herself invisible..."**_

 **Hope you're excited...;)**


	39. Chapter 38

**A/N: Hey guys! I was gonna try the thing where I upload once a week but I'm already a day late...sorry :/ I went to bed late last night and then I procrastinated and decided to upload today. Which I almost didn't even do it today because it's already so late here and I just finished watching the American president's SOTU. I have a million things to say about that but we're not going to start a political debate here lol so I just won't say anything.**

 **Moooving on! A quick recap of the previous chapter: Adelaide deciphers the cryptic message she found from a sticky note in Coach Graves' desk, Peter and Adie have a little cute moment, and we get to see a little spider-pete at the end. So now in this chapter, we get to find out if Adie had cracked the code correctly (try saying that five times fast) and I think there's a new semi-character whom I just loved writing because he's so awesome. We might see him again, you never know.**

 **Alright I won't hold it back any longer!**

 **Thank you to: _artemis7448, 2002, and lizlil_ for following/favoriting or leaving a review! You guys are AWESOME!**

* * *

 **"** _Yuh_ _know_ _whatcha_ _ya_ _little_ _pip_ **-** _squeak_ _?_ **"**

* * *

Adelaide had written the address on her palm just to be safe.

In a manner of speaking, today was tomorrow. Today was the day Coach Graves would be going to Chelsea. Her plan was simple. She would just hail and cab and follow him to wherever he was going and then she would be able to see exactly what he was up to. She had already texted Happy and told him that she was staying after school in the library and that she would just take a cab home when she was done. It was a foolproof plan, she was sure.

The moment the bell rang, she was ready to sprint out the door but Ned stopped her.

"Do you guys want to hang out today, at my place?" he asked.

"I...er, have a lot of homework today, sorry," she said, her eyes darting to the clock anxiously. She hoped she wouldn't miss him before he left.

"Is it algebra?" Peter frowned, "I can help you with it if you want."

"Uh, no. I'll figure it out. Thanks. I really have to go. See you guys tomorrow!" she said and hurried out of the classroom before they could stop her again. She forced her way through the crowd, heading the in the opposite direction of everyone else.

Finally she broke out of the throng of students and stumbled into the same dimly-lit, empty hall as yesterday. Looking in both directions of the hall to make sure she was alone, she pulled her hoodie over her head and shook her pants off. She had worn her suit underneath this morning in preparation for now. You could never be too careful.

Silently, she changed herself into her Blue Phantom alias and then turned herself invisible. Grabbing her backpack, she padded down the hall, towards his office. Just as she had done yesterday, she pushed herself against the wall and then cautiously peeked around the corner. He was at the door, locking up his office. Adelaide held her breath as he walked past her.

She didn't wait for him to disappear around the corner to start following him. The school was completely empty now and Adelaide was suddenly very glad that she had the ability to turn herself invisible of this would have been a whole lot harder.

Once they were outside the school, he headed towards the parking lot, whistling and swinging his keys around his index casually. He stopped by an old 80s-looking car that looked ready to break down any second. Adelaide winced as he got inside the car, wondering if his weight would cause the car to just crumble into individual parts. Surprisingly, the car held and didn't fall apart even when he started the engine.

Adelaide realized that this would be the perfect time to hail a cab before he got away. Quickly, she hid behind a trash can and made herself visible again. People usually didn't find it very entertaining when a person just appeared out of thin air so Adelaide tried to avoid it whenever she could. She hurried to the street where she instantly found a cab and slid inside.

The middle-aged driver eyed her outfit curiously. With the suit and glowing eyes, she was bound to raise some eyebrows but that wasn't her point of focus at the moment because Coach Graves was getting away!

"Follow that car!" she told the driver, pointing to the old, rickety car that had just pulled out of the school parking lot. His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"Car chase?! Oh boy, I've nevuh had one of dese! What are we followin' him fawh?" the driver said with his heavy New York accent as he pressed the gas pedal, speeding forward.

"I don't know yet," Adelaide answered distractedly. She was engrossed in watching the car and making sure it didn't leave her sight, "Can't you go faster?"

At this, the driver beamed even brighter.

"Breakin' de speed limit?! Oh, just wait until my pals hear about dis! I'm gonna be a legend!" he said excitedly and then sped the cab up, quickly switching lanes to catch up with the car. This earned him a few horns from nearby drivers to which he honked back just as angrily.

"Yuh know whatcha little pip-squeak? Yuh can take dat and shove it up your own ass, okay!" he shouted out his window at some poor taxi driver who had dared to insult him. They drove past him before he could respond.

"Gah! Dese little greenies tink dey can just waltz in here and own up de streets like dey own dem or somethin'," he muttered to himself, shaking his head angrily, "Well I'll show dem! I've been in dis business longuh than any of dem!"

Adelaide would have taken a liking to this man if it weren't for the fact that she was too busy trying to figure out what her coach was up to exactly. They were a good ways from the school now and, if Adelaide was correct, they were headed directly towards 408 12th Ave, New York, NY 10018. Hence, the tow pound.

"Say, have I seen yuh anywhere befawh? Yuh been on tv lately, or what?" he asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror and pulling down his flat cap.

"No," she answered him, her eyes never leaving the car. Coach Graves didn't seem suspicious that a cab was following him based on his driving. "I haven't."

"Billboards?" he asked after a while, glancing at her again.

"No billboards," she answered.

They were getting close now, she could tell. Despite it being his first car chase, the driver kept a respectable distance from the car, enough so that Graves wouldn't get suspicious. Adelaide thought it would be better than to ask how he knew to do this. She had a feeling she would get a very long and detailed answer that she didn't have the time to listen to.

It was at this moment that the driver decided to play some of his CD's. Jump by Van Halen started playing, making the car chase feeling like some action scene out of an old 80s movie.

" _You got to roll with the punches and get to what's real…"_

They turned right last minute, throwing Adelaide to the other side of the cab. The driver chuckled.

"Oops," he said, "Sawhry about that."

" _I got my back against the record machine, I ain't the worst that you've seen…"_

Groaning and rubbing her arm that she had fallen on, Adelaide sat back up, immediately searching for the car again. Her eyes locked onto it. The traffic on the road was becoming more secluded and Adelaide could hear people shouting indistinctly as they drove by. There was a baby crying loudly somewhere and a couple fighting.

" _Might as well jump, go ahead an' jump…"_

This had to be the lamest drug bust in history. To begin with, she had to _take a cab_ to catch the bad guy. Whoever heard of a superhero who had to follow the bad guy with a _taxi_? And she wasn't even 100% sure she was going to catch a drug deal. It could very easily be something else, something much lamer.

" _Ah, can't you see what I mean?"_

Finally, the tow pound came into view.

"Just stop the car here," she said, waving her hand at the driver. He pulled over on the side of the street, parking in front of an apartment that looked haunted and turned down the music. Adelaide ignored it and reached into her pocket for cash. She handed the money to the driver silently.

"Keep the change," she said and this made the driver very happy.

"It was fun doin' business wit' yuh, ma'am. If yuh ever need anudder car chase, Bobby's de name. Everybody at de garage knows me," he said cheerfully as if he wanted to make a career out of car chasing. Which, judging by the look on his face, Adelaide wouldn't put it past him.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, grabbing her backpack and stepping out of the car. Her foot was just about to hit the pavement when Bobby stopped her.

"Wait a second! I know who yuh are! You're dat superhero girl! What do dey call yuh...Blue somethin'...Blue Phantom! Yeah, that's it! You're de Blue Phantom aren'tcha?!" Bobby said, feeling more excited than he had ever felt. Which was saying something because Adelaide was sure no one could have looked more excited than him when she had told him to follow the car earlier.

"Let's keep that between us, alright?" she said, glancing over her shoulder at the car pulling into the tow pound up ahead. She was going to have to hurry if she wanted to get there in time.

"Thanks for the ride, Bobby," she said and then shut the door. Adelaide quickly turned herself invisible and then broke into a run towards the tow pound. She had made Bobby pull over pretty far away from the actual tow pound as to not look suspicious. She had a little ways to run before she could be close enough to see what was going on.

After a little running, she finally stopped at the tow pound which was surrounded by a barbed fence. That didn't stop Adelaide from throwing her backpack over it and then jumping over right after. Brushing the dirt off her jeans, she grabbed her backpack again and surveyed the lot, looking for Coach Graves' old fossil. Maybe he actually came here to give up his old car to the tow people since he knew it could fall apart any second. She hoped that was it. For the car's sake, at least.

The tow pound was very large, but there were only one entrance that a car could come through. Adelaide doubted that Coach Graves would be coming through that entrance if he truly was here for a drug deal. There were officials checking every car that went through. She could hear the water from Hudson River which was just behind the tow pound.

As Adelaide stood there, she tried to located Coach Graves' old car. She was just about to jump back over the fence and walk around the tow pound when she spotted his car coming through the one exit on the side. Adelaide frowned, pausing. How did he manage to get through there? Was he really just here on normal, legal business?

Curiosity getting the best of her, she found herself walking towards him, still invisible. He stepped out of the car, looking around. Any other person wouldn't find it suspicious, but Adelaide couldn't help but notice how he had his arm wrapped around his torso as if he was hiding something inside his coat. Looking around again, he locked his car and headed inside the garage as if he owned the place.

Inside, there were several mechanics working by the cars but none of them paid any attention to her coach. Adelaide didn't question it and just followed him deeper into the garage, ignoring the clinking, clattering, and shouting coming from behind her. Finally, they took a turn into a hallway at the back of the garage where Adelaide assumed the workers used for their breaks.

At the end of the hall was a door. Somehow, Coach Graves seemed to know that this was the door he needed to open and he did just that. The moment he opened it, Adelaide could hear the river outside but the chatter of the crowd seemed much quieter. Adelaide slipped outside behind him just in time before he closed the door. Once again, she was grateful for her abilities which this whole thing would have been almost impossible to do without.

Once she was outside, she realized that this was a smoking area. It was where workers could come to take a break and smoke without bothering other people. Unfortunately, Adelaide was being very much bothered at the moment but she didn't dare cough. There was a small patio table towards the right, just by the fence and big enough to fit four people. Which, at the moment, the table was doing just that.

No one else was out here except for the four men seated around the patio table, having a smoke. Two of the men looked had an average build but the other two...she did not want to be on the wrong side if they got angry. And they all had tattoos. Big ones, small ones, colorful ones. One of the men even had a lip piercing and another was wearing studs in his ears. Every one of them reeked of cigarettes and beer.

Adelaide had put herself in the opposite corner of the table, as far away from as she could. Her eyes darted between the men and Coach Graves. What the hell was he doing here with men like these? Clearly they were not here to play a game of checkers. For a moment, Adelaide tried to picture them doing just that and she found herself struggling to keep herself from laughing.

 _Be serious, Adelaide._

They glanced up at Coach Graves, taking him in. Then they all glanced at each other and then one of them burst out in laughter and then the others followed. They all sounded like dying mules gasping for their last breath.

"What the hell are you wearin', man?" the smallest one said, trying to catch his breath. Adelaide realized they were talking about his school coach attire which she guessed wasn't something you'd wear to an outing like this. Who knew drug dealers had a certain fashion, too? Well, if they really were drug dealers. Coach Graves scowled at them.

"That," he said, his voice calm and collected, "is none of your business. Where is she?"

"Pat him down, Jack," the biggest man grunted, having finally stopped laughing. The man with the lip piercing stood up and began patting down Coach Graves. He grabbed his phone, keys, and wallet. The latter, he grabbed a couple bills from for himself.

"Hey! That's my money!" Graves shouted angrily. Jack grinned, revealing his broken and colorful teeth. Adelaide grimaced.

"Not anymore, it ain't," he said, clicking his tongue, "Consider it a fee for pattin' you down, eh?"

Coach Graves looked like he wanted to say more but he bit his tongue and gritted his teeth instead. Adelaide had a feeling her coach wasn't done with Jack even after Jack had stepped aside. He gave his toothy grin again that Adelaide wished she could unsee.

"Boss is sittin' in that van, over there," Jack said, pointing to a black van parked just out of sight from the street. Adelaide tried looking, but she couldn't see anyone inside. "You try anythin' and we'll be right here to cut your head right off."

Jack made a slicing motion across his tattoo-covered throat accompanying it with a slicing sound. Coach Graves didn't even bother glancing at the henchman and strode past him, straight towards the van. Adelaide hurried after him silently. She glanced over her shoulder at the men who were still laughing about something while lighting new cigarettes.

They knew Coach Graves would be coming here today. They had been expecting him. Adelaide wondered if it was one of these four men that Coach Graves had been talking to on the phone yesterday. What could he possibly want from them? Well, she was about to find out.

Coach Graves stood at the back of the van and raised his fist and knocked, twice. Adelaide was standing right beside him. She wondered what he would do if he knew. She didn't have much time to think before the double doors swung open, revealing a huge, bald, hispanic man that seemed even taller than Coach Graves. Yet, her coach barely regarded him.

Grunting, the man stepped aside, letting Coach Graves (and Adelaide) into the van. The smell hit her like a truck. The odor of alcohol was so strong that Adelaide almost felt a little tipsy just by breathing it in. Inside, there was nothing but a bench on each side of the van one of which was currently occupied by a woman.

She looked surprisingly average. The woman had olive skin, short red hair and a long black coat covering her clothes. She had a nose stud and Adelaide could see the hints of a large tattoo on her wrists peeking out of her sleeves. She was chewing gum and she popped a bubble loudly. Adelaide was a flash of a tongue piercing before she closed her mouth again and it was gone.

She didn't smile or get up when she saw Coach Graves. Instead, she waved her hand without looking up from her phone and her man moved to the front of the van, apparently understanding the meaning. She looked up and eyed Coach Graves lazily in the meantime.

"You got the cash?" she said, her voice sounding throaty. Not in an attractive way, but a sick way. So she was expecting him, too.

Coach Graves reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a giant wad of cash, a size that she had never seen before despite living in the Stark Tower with Tony Stark himself. That many bills, stacked up together...but for what? What was he buying?

The woman's eyes lit up at the sight of the money. She jumped to snatch it from his hands greedily, but Coach Graves pulled it back the last second, cocking his head. She scowled up at him and then sighed.

"What do you want?" she said carelessly.

"The usual," he said cooly.

She narrowed her eyes at him but then just snapped her fingers and her man was back. This time, with a duffel bag. Her man watched her, waiting for her to give the signal and she nodded. The man reached into the duffel bag and pulled out a small, clear bag.

Adelaide felt her breath getting stuck in her throat and she tried not to make a choking sound.

The bag was filled with a white powder.

* * *

The ride back to the Tower was filled with cold, shocked silence.

Adelaide couldn't believe it. Her high school gym coach did drugs. And he had been for a while now, too. That woman had understood what he meant when he had said 'the usual'. He had contacts with a drug dealer. _Her high school gym coach had contacts with a drug dealer_. What other illegal things did he do?

Hell, was he even a real gym coach? Or was he just pretending to be one?

Adelaide didn't know what to do. What was _anyone_ supposed to do in a situation like this? She considered telling someone but what would she say?

 _I turned myself invisible and followed him to his drug dealer. I saw the drugs with my own eyes. Oh by the way, did I mention that I'm the Blue Phantom?_

Adelaide had a feeling that wouldn't go over very well. She then considered telling Tony and Pepper. Pepper would permanently ground her to her room if she found out what she had done and Tony…well, he wouldn't care enough to do something. Busting a drug deal was a little under his pay grade as an Avenger and he wasn't about to do it out of the kindness of his heart.

 _That's the cop's job,_ he would say, _if we did all the work for them, then what are they gonna do?_

Which brought her back to her original question. What other illegal things did Coach Graves do? And, more importantly, was he even a real coach? How the hell was she even supposed to find out? There wasn't a manual for all this.

The next decision she made would be hers alone and she would have to face the consequences on her own, too.

Adelaide thanked the driver and paid him before stepping back out onto the street. She wasn't the Blue Phantom anymore. One of the lesser known perks of turning invisible was that you didn't need a bathroom to change clothes. Just turn yourself invisible and no one would see a thing. Not that Adelaide had done anything like that, of course; she had just put her clothes back on over her suit before getting in the cab.

She pulled her hoodie over her head so no one would see her walking into the Tower. Once she approached the doorman, he tipped his hat, nodding his head and opened the door up for her. She mumbled a thank you, walking inside.

The lobby was empty with the exception of the receptionist and a couple of businessmen in deep discussion about something next to the indoor fountain. Adelaide ignored them, heading for the elevator. All she wanted to do right now was collapse on her bed and turn her brain off.

So she did just that. Pepper wouldn't be home for another two hours and Tony was out with Rhodey, testing some new features in his suit and the war machine's.

So Adelaide fell asleep, in the midst of her confusion. As her eyelids grew heavier, she realized that she was sure of one thing: Coach Graves wasn't the man he was pretending to be. And Adelaide was going to find out who he really was.

* * *

 **A/N: So Adie had been right about Coach Graves hmm...Just a side note, I LOVE BOBBY. Okay end of side note.**

 _ **Question: Would you guys like to see more of Bobby in the future maybe? Lol**_


	40. Chapter 39

**A/N: Um...hi? Please don't kill me? How long as it been...a month? Wow, I feel terrible. Well, I know it's been a while but I have been through A LOT OF SHIT. Seriously, I don't even know what's going on in my own life anymore. Everything sucks and everything is a mess. Did I mention that everything sucks? I think my chakras are like in the wrong positions or something because ever since like the beginning of February, life's been throwing curveballs at me and it's been so frustrating. I've been so caught up with everything that's going on in my life, that I seriously have not had time or mental capacity to upload or even write so I'm sorry about that - didn't mean to leave you guys hanging.**

 **It felt so refreshing to come back to this story though, not gonna lie. Adelaide is so straightforward, it's really fun writing her. Anyway, I know it's been a long while so here's some recap for y'all to jog your memory. If you need, you can always revisit the previous chapter :)**

 _...Silently, she changed herself into her Blue Phantom alias and then turned herself invisible. Grabbing her backpack, she padded down the hall, towards his office._

 _...She hurried to the street where she instantly found a cab and slid inside._

 _..."Car chase?! Oh boy, I've nevuh had one of dese! What are we followin' him fawh?" the driver said with his heavy New York accent as he pressed the gas pedal, speeding forward._

 _...Adelaide...just followed him deeper into the garage, ignoring the clinking, clattering, and shouting coming from behind her. Finally, they took a turn into a hallway at the back of the garage where Adelaide assumed the workers used for their breaks._

 _...No one else was out here except for the four men seated around the patio table, having a smoke...They knew Coach Graves would be coming here today. They had been expecting him. Adelaide wondered if it was one of these four men that Coach Graves had been talking to on the phone yesterday._

 _...The woman had olive skin, short red hair and a long black coat covering her clothes. She had a nose stud and Adelaide could see the hints of a large tattoo on her wrists peeking out of her sleeves._

 _...Coach Graves reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a giant wad of cash, a size that she had never seen before despite living in the Stark Tower with Tony Stark himself._

 _...The bag was filled with a white powder._

 _...As her eyelids grew heavier, she realized that she was sure of one thing: Coach Graves wasn't the man he was pretending to be. And Adelaide was going to find out who he really was._

 **Alright so that's a quick sentence recap of the last chapter so you don't have to read the whole thing again. So now that you're all caught up with the story, time for the new chapter that took me a month to actually write...oops.**

 _ **Flufflymarshmallows: I SAW THE TRAILER AND IT WAS AWESOME! Although I'm not sure I saw anything about Ned having a girlfriend? Maybe I just missed it haha.**_

 _ **RavenclawsJedi: Hi, I'm sure you're cold's better by now lol but I just wanna say thank you so much for reading this story! And expecially thank you for leaving a review! I love hearing from people; it inspires me to keep writing so thank you again! :)**_

 **Thank you to: Fluffymarshmallows, Zose, IcyMangoFangirl, , Xoxo122124, MissMadster, and dhnysports88 for following/favoriting or leaving a review! I feel terrible for ghosting out for like a month but hopefully depression doesn't hit me again lol. Thank you guys so much for bearing through it and I won't keep you from Adelaide any longer!**

* * *

 _"Spider-Man's a joke."_

* * *

"Do you have your backpack?" May shouted from the kitchen. Peter patted the backpack that was hanging off his shoulders and holding a special little suit in addition to his books.

"Yeah, I got it! Bye, May!" he shouted back, pushing open the door.

"Be safe!"

Peter closed the door behind him, rushing down the stairs. Normally, he would take the elevator to the first floor but he was already running late today and he couldn't afford to wait for the elevator to come. It was always very busy and crowded and this time of the day as people rushed to get to work on time.

He took the stairs two at a time, desperate to catch the bus before he missed it. Since Uncle Ben wasn't here to drive him to school anymore, he had to start taking the bus every day. He didn't really mind since Ned was always there to give him company. He would still prefer Uncle Ben driving him to school, but that wasn't possible anymore because he was…Peter sighed, suddenly feeling mentally exhausted. Three months and the wound of Uncle Ben's death was still as fresh and painful. When would it be easier to deal with? Would it ever?

Peter shook himself out of it. If he didn't get there in 2 minutes today, he would miss the bus for sure. He picked up the pace, sprinting down the sidewalk full of New Yorkers in just as much of a rush as he was, apparently.

"Excuse me!"

"Sorry!"

"Oops!"

The throng of people seemed never ending and Peter wondered if he would make it to the bus on time today.

Suddenly, a certain car on the street caught hit attention. Peter whipped his head around and his eyes fell on a sleek black car speeding down the street and going _way_ over the speed limit. A little ways behind, a cop was trailing the car, his blue and red lights blazing.

Instantly Peter sprinted out of sight, ducking into an alley. He hid himself behind a dumpster and quickly switched out his school clothes for his Spider-Man suit. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he hurried down the street where the car chase was headed.

It was time to do some superheroing.

Peter broke into a sprint down the sidewalk and, with his new attire, people made way for him. Whether it was because they didn't want to be near a weird kid who was wearing a bright red and blue spandex suit or because they knew he was Spider-Man, Peter didn't know. And at the moment, he couldn't find time to care.

Shooting a web up, Peter swung himself up and over the crowd. He swung himself from building to building until he was close enough to the car. The cop was still pretty far behind and Peter doubted he would be able to catch up on time. Peter had to catch this guy himself.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and Peter whipped his head around just in time to see a large bus heading on a collision course with the black car.

Swinging himself off the corner of the building, Peter jumped in front of the black car without a second thought. Bracing himself for the impact, he put his hands out seconds before the car hit him. Shaking under the pressure of a 3 ton machine pushing him back at the speed of 40 miles an hour, Peter pushed back as hard as he could. He was determined to not let the car hit the bus.

Groaning, Peter pushed the car back until he could feel the pressure being lifted off of him. Finally, the sedan rolled back and Peter slumped against the bus. Somehow, he was only slightly out of breath.

He stood there for a second, catching his breath. He just saved a bus full of kids from getting hurt. Peter wondered how many lives that was. He looked upwards, towards the sky.

The sound of the cop siren jerked him out of his trance and he was alert once again. He checked his watch.

 _Crap! I'm late!_

Shooting out another web, he swung himself out of the almost-crash site. The cop would take care of the rest, Peter had done his job. As he swung away, he could hear people cheering and clapping behind him.

Peter smiled. He liked being a friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.

By the time Peter got to the school, he was already five minutes late. Somewhere along the way, he had ducked into a deserted alley and changed out of his suit and back into his normal clothes. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't swing himself to his first class. Either way, he was already late.

Everyone was already sitting in class and the halls were empty. He sprinted up the stairs and towards his class. Being a superhero came at a cost. He stopped right in front of the door, pausing for a moment to catch his breath before pushing the door open.

His math teacher looked up abruptly, seemingly annoyed to be interrupted mid-lesson.

"Do you have a good reason for being late, Mr. Parker?" his teacher asked. The whole class turned to face him. A few were snickering.

 _Yeah, I was actually just coming from stopping a 3 ton car with my bare hands and saving a few dozen lives._

"Er, no sir. It won't happen again," he muttered and took his seat at the back of the class. The class flew by quickly and soon it was time for gym. Peter put his books away into backpack and hurried out of class to catch up with Ned and Ada.

He spotted them in the hallway, looking at something on Ada's phone. Peter frowned. They looked pretty interested in whatever they were watching.

"Peter, you have to see this!" Ned shouted when Peter was close enough. His curiosity spiked, Peter looked down at the phone in Ada's hand.

"Wow, this video is number 1 on trending," Ada said, handing the phone to him. She stepped next to him, looking at it over his shoulder. She pressed play and the video started again.

It was a video of him. Well, technically, it was a video of Spider-Man. It was from this morning when he was swinging in front of the car and catching it with his bare hands before it could hit the bus. Peter felt his lips tug into a proud smile. He had to admit, he looked totally badass in the video.

"He's some kind of new superhero," Ned told him, "People say his name is Spider-Man but he's not like the other superheroes because he stops small things like robberies and car chases! How cool is that! A neighborhood superhero!"

Peter couldn't explain the feeling in his chest at the moment. It was somewhere between really, really happy and really, really proud. He was a superhero! A real, live superhero and people loved him! For a second, he glanced up. Peter wondered if Uncle Ben was proud of him, too. If he was here, Peter would tell him everything and he knew that Uncle Ben would listen intently, too. And then he would tell Peter how proud he was of him.

Adelaide's lips tugged into a smile.

"He looks pretty badass," she said, pocketing her phone. They began walking to gym together. "Everyone's talking about him."

"Yeah?" Peter asked, grinning. He was finally getting the attention. Now everyone would know who he was.

"Oh yeah," Ned answered, "The media is all over it. They've interviewed people who say they've met him and every single one of them said that he just helped them and then left without asking for anything in return! Man, I wanna meet him so bad! He sounds freaking awesome!"

Peter grinned to himself. If only he knew…

* * *

All thoughts of the new superhero were thrown out of her mind as Adelaide got closer to the gym. Her heart started hammering in her rib cage. Her coach was a drug dealer. How was she supposed to pretend that she didn't know that? What would happen if he found she knew? What would he do?

Adelaide had spent all night yesterday awake and trying to figure out what to do next. She had been so shocked initially that her mind had turned up blank. It wasn't until it was 2 am that she finally decided on what to do next.

She had to get him fired. One way or another, she had to find a way to get Coach Graves fired. As long as he was here, he'd pose as a danger to everyone else. Besides, to get him fired, she'd have to expose him. That way, she would find out who he really was and he would have to face the consequences of his actions. Two birds with one stone.

Adelaide swallowed nervously, pushing open the gym doors. Her eyes quickly scanned the gym for the coach, but he was nowhere in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he had chosen to not come to school today. Just then, he walked onto the court, looking as suspicious as ever with his eyepatch.

Well, that definitely made her plans for today a bit harder. Adelaide let out a short breath. Whether he was here or not, she was going to search his office for the drugs.

Adelaide separated from Ned and Peter as they both headed to their own places; Ned went to bleachers, while she and Peter went to their own locker rooms to switch into their gym clothes.

Adelaide ignored the other girls in the locker room and headed straight for the backdoor which led to a hallway behind the gym which was usually deserted at this time since everyone was in the gym. Looking down both ways of the hallway, Adelaide headed down the right side. The voices from the locker room became distance as she walked further away from them. The hallway grew silent.

Adelaide knew that there was a back entrance to Coach Graves' office in this hall. It was most likely kept locked since no one really came down this hallway. Better yet, there were no cameras in this hall at all. But Adelaide wasn't worried about those things. She could easily click open the door with a bobby pin just like she had been doing and security cameras were never a threat to her. No, the problem was the risk of getting caught. What would happen if Coach Graves found her in his office searching for drugs? Adelaide had a feeling that wouldn't go over very well with him.

As she approached his office, she quickly turned herself invisible and pulled out a bobby pin from her pocket. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, Adelaide slipped inside the office, quietly shutting the door behind herself. She turned around, letting her eyes adjust to the dark office. There was some light coming through the small window in the main door but it hardly made a difference. With a flick of her wrist, Adelaide created a small ball of light in the palm of her hand. From the corner of her eye, she could see the light from the door flicker for a moment and then dim.

Adelaide stood still for a moment, surveying the room.

She knew it would be stupid idea to bring drugs into a school even if he hid it in his personal office. But Adelaide needed to look. She wanted to be sure. Maybe he would hide the drugs here because they were the stupidest place to hide them: in plain sight. No one notices what's right in front of them when they're looking for things that are hidden. Except Adelaide. That's exactly what she was here to do.

Adelaide decided that it would be a good idea to start by looking through his gym bag. She found it sitting under his desk and she quickly pulled it out, rummaging through it. The smell of cheap cologne was so strong at first that Adelaide had to fight tokeep herself from coughing.

Inside the duffle bag were only gym clothes, a towel, and a couple of plastic water bottles. She had searched inside out (even through the tshirts) but there was no little bag of white powder. Sighing, she kicked the bag under the desk again in the exact place and position it was in before.

 _Now what?_

Would he hide them in his desk? She checked. No, not there either. What about that locked file cabinet on the other side of the room?

She found a pair of keys sitting in the desk drawer and quickly took them to the cabinets. The first key didn't work but the second one slipped right in. Pushing herself up onto her toes, she fingered through the files one by one. Adelaide made sure to look in between folders to make sure he hadn't hidden it in there somewhere.

She had flipped through the entire top drawer but she still hadn't found any drugs. Adelaide was about to start searching the middle drawer when she heard the doorknob rattling from the outside.

 _Someone was coming in!_

Quickly, she ducked behind the file cabinet. Even though she was invisible, she still felt the natural urge to hide behind something.

The door swung open and Coach Graves walked inside.

In the dark, she couldn't really see his face in its entirety. But she found herself breathing a little better when she remembered that he couldn't see her. Still, she tried to make herself as small as possible.

He walked over to his desk and ducked under it, out of sight from Adelaide. She could hear the ruffling of his gym bag in the darkness.

As she quietly waited for him to stand up again, her eyes flickered up at the file cabinet. Adelaide held back a gasp when she realized that she had left the keys in the keyhole.

 _Oh crap crap crap!_

If he saw those keys…

Just then, he stood up again, now with a water bottle in his hand. Her eyes darted frantically between him and the keys repeatedly.

For a terrifying second, she thought he was stepping towards the file cabinet until he turned and she realized that he was just leaving. She held her breath as he stepped outside and locked the door with a click. Adelaide didn't dare to move until she heard his footsteps receding.

Adelaide slumped against the floor, letting out a breath. That was a close one. She needed to be more careful.

What would he do if he found out?

* * *

Spider-Man was still shaking the media. More people had begun to report that he had helped them in some form or way. He was literally everywhere and everyone was asking the same question: who is Spider-Man? To some people, he was their hero. To others, like crooks and thieves, he was their enemy. But for Peter's sake, more people believed he was a hero.

Adelaide has begun to take a liking to this bug boy as well. It was nice what he was doing. Not many heroes with his power would want to stick around to just be a neighborhood superhero. She was curious what his MO was. Why did he do it?

"Ned, you've watched that video like 30 times now," Adelaide complained. They were sitting at lunch and Ned hadn't even touched any of his food yet. Ned grinned, showing her his phone.

"But look how cool he looks!" Ned said, "He just swung in from nowhere and stopped a car with his bare hands!"

"That's pretty impressive," Peter said. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you want him to stop watching it or not?" she asked. Peter actually didn't want to stop him but he sighed and turned to his friend.

"You've seen it enough times, Ned," Peter said, snatching the phone from his hands.

"Hey! Give that back!" Ned complained.

"Promise to stop watching it?"

Ned sighed, grumbling something to himself.

"Fine," he agreed and Peter handed his phone back to him.

"Spider-Man's a joke," came a voice from the other side of the table. All three of them turned their heads towards the curly haired girl sitting against the wall, hiding her face behind a book.

"What?" Peter said, sounding personally offended. Adelaide rolled her eyes. The guy hadn't even been famous for a whole day yet and Peter was already obsessed with him.

"That video's gotta be edited. I mean, come on, the guy barely looks big enough to lift a chair," Michelle scoffed, setting her book down. Peter's mouth fell open. Was she saying that he couldn't _lift a chair_? He suddenly remembered that she didn't know he was Spider-Man and he physically had to refrain himself from lifting table up with one hand to prove his point. He had to remind himself how much he enjoyed his secret identity being _and_ staying a secret.

"Are you kidding?" Ned said, also sounding personally offended, "There's no way this is edited! I mean, just look at him!"

Ned slid over to Michelle, abandoning his lunch to try to convince the curly-haired girl that Spider-Man really did exist. Adelaide rolled her eyes at Ned's childishness, returning her attention to her lunch. Her mind began drifting as it usually did whenever she had a problem.

Where would Coach Graves - or maybe she shouldn't even call him coach anymore - hide drugs? The more she thought about it, the stupider she felt. What the hell had she been thinking? Of course he wouldn't bring the drugs to school; he wasn't stupid. Stupid didn't get him this far. How long had he been doing drugs to begin with? There were too many questions and not enough answers. She had to figure out where he stashed his drugs, but how?

"Uh, Ada, you okay?" Peter asked, realizing she had been trying to catch a single pea in her fork for two minutes now. She glanced up at him, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine. Just wondering about the algebra test coming up," she lied. It wasn't a complete lie, though. She did have a test coming up and she had been too distracted with the matter with Graves to spend time studying.

"Oh," Peter said, "Well you could always come over today and I could help you out."

Adelaide looked at him, surprised. The last time she had been at his house for that, they had ended up…And she hadn't been back for her math since then. Peter knew that too. Whenever it came up in a conversation, they always averted it; the topic had become taboo. But now he was asking her to come - what did that mean? Did it mean that he felt they were both past that? Because they definitely were. Adelaide was so past it that she had almost forgotten it ever happened. She hadn't thought about it since then, at all. Not even once. Okay maybe once...or more...

She got that same feeling in her stomach that she had when It had happened. She swallowed, clearing her throat. It wouldn't be awkward...right? They were past that now - they were friends again. There was no reason for her to refuse. She looked up at Peter who was watching her expectantly. He looked over it. So they were over it then; it was in the past already.

Adelaide thought she had better things to worry about then some weird feelings.

"Yeah," she heard herself saying, "I'll be there." Peter smiled but before he could reply, the overhead intercom crackled on.

" _Attention students,"_ came their principal's voice, _"I have exciting news. As returning students are aware of our annual spring science fair. Students will be able to submit their own projects and they will be judged by professors from NYU. This year's prize for first place is $5,000. And I am proud to announce that this year's science fair will be sponsored by none other than...Tony Stark!"_

Adelaide almost fell out of her chair.

 _Tony?!_

* * *

 **A/N: *evil laugh* Now we're setting the scene for exciting things to come...Seriously though, this is gonna get much more exciting trust me.**


	41. PLEASE READ

Hey guys...there's no easy way to say this but I'll try...

So as you might have noticed, I've been super slow at updating this story lately and it's just been really, really hard to keep up with it. I think I'm kind of losing interest in it...I know it's not writer's block because I've been writing other things and those are going well, but it's just this one fanfic that I can't seem to up with. I don't know why, but I really have no motivation at all to keep writing this story. The plot just feels like a mess and the characters feel very flat. I can't keep writing something that I don't want to. Especially, when it's this stressful for me.

So...I guess what I'm trying to say here is that...I am quitting Into the Light.

I'm sorry, I know you all have gotten very attached to all of the characters and it's been a long journey but I'm sad that it has to get cut short. Unfortunately, sometimes things just don't work out. I'm going to miss Adelaide and I know you guys will too but this is just how it is. I wish things could be different, I really, really do. Which is why the last thing I'm going to say is: "Happy April fools and I am never quitting this story lmao you THOUGHT."

Sorry, I just had to. :P


	42. Chapter 40

**A/N: HEY GUYS IT'S BEEN TOO LONG! I FINALLY FINISHED MY SEMESTER AND THAT MEANS I'M DONE WITH ONE WHOLE YEAR OF COLLEGE! WOOP WOOP!**

 **WARNING: NO ENDGAME SPOILERS IN THE REVIEWS OR I WILL COME FOR YOU AND I AM NOT JOKING. DON'T BE THAT PERSON. Thank you.**

 **So I get a whole 4 months off for summer and I am sooooo excited. That's 120 days! Anyway, I don't really know what to say lmao but I'll give ya'll a quick sentence recap :)) Maybe my next author's note will be longer lol.**

 _...Shaking under the pressure of a 3 ton machine pushing him back at the speed of 40 miles an hour, Peter pushed back as hard as he could. He was determined to not let the car hit the bus._

 _..."He's some kind of new superhero," Ned told him, "People say his name is Spider-Man but he's not like the other superheroes because he stops small things like robberies and car chases! How cool is that! A neighborhood superhero!"_

 _...She had flipped through the entire top drawer but she still hadn't found any drugs._

 _..."Oh," Peter said, "Well you could always come over today and I could help you out." Adelaide looked at him, surprised. The last time she had been at his house for that, they had ended up…And she hadn't been back for her math since then."_

 _...This year's prize for first place is $5,000. And I am proud to announce that this year's science fair will be sponsored by none other than...Tony Stark!_

 **And there you go! A quick review of what happened. So Adelaide and Peter are going to have another math session...alone ;) And Tony is going to come to Adie's school and I'm guessing she's not going to be exactly excited about that...**

 **Alright, now time for all the thank yous to the wonderful and amazing people who read this crap story...**

 ** _Fluffymarshmallows_ : Glad to see you're excited!**

 _ **lizlil:**_ **Thank you so much! And sorry about the April fools scare haha it was pretty funny, though.**

 **kamulator: I'm so glad that you like this story! I love reading reviews, especially when they're compliments about my stories hahaha. Anyway, thank you for reading and leaving a review1 :)**

 **Thebookworm33: You are absolutely _incredible_ for leaving me these wonderful reviews! I read each one of them and I am so glad that you love Adelaide so much! And I'm kinda sorry about the April fools scare...not really lmao it was really funny to see everyone's reactions haha! As for which side Adie's gonna be on during Civil War...you'll just have to see hehe but it's coming up pretty soon, don't worry. And I'm kind of having a hard time believing that you dyed your hair brown because of Adelaide...just...wow, that means a lot to me that Adelaide is so important to you. Plus points because you watch B99! As for Captain Marvel, I'm actually about to watch it right now haha so you'll see my opinion in the next author's note haha.**

 **Thanks to: _willyerfull, TolivelikeIsee, JaxketSniffer, gizgaz420, kamulator, liziprincsama, Fluffymarshmallows, lizlil, and Thebookworm33_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! Seriously, you guys are incredible and thank you so _so_ much!**

* * *

 _"On behalf of all women, I apologize for trying to avoid chaos."_

* * *

Adelaide marched into the penthouse, heaving with anger. She scanned the area, looking for a certain billionaire to lay her wrath on.

"Anthony Edward Stark!" she shouted, throwing her backpack onto the floor. She tramped into the kitchen, but he wasn't there either.

"Tony!" she shouted again, louder this time. Adelaide marched through the entire penthouse, searching through every room for the billionaire who she was itching to get her hands on. How dare he! Oh if she could only find him...Adelaide stumbled back into the living room, having searched the entire penthouse. Breathing heavily, she stood in the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips.

"TONY!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a drill coming from beneath her. She narrowed her eyes at the floor. So that's where he was...Gritting her teeth, Adelaide marched over to the stairs and stomped down them. Through the glass doors, she could see him hunched over some hunk of metal, unbeknownst to the fury that was about to be unleashed on him. Adelaide yanked open the glass door, catching his attention.

The billionaire turned around, his expression morphing into a smile. He was half-smiling until he saw the look on her face and then his expression fell into one of confusion.

"What the hell, Tony!" Adelaide shouted, marching towards him. She stopped a few feet away. "I tolerate your stunts but this is going too far! You could have at least asked me first! But _no_! Adelaide's opinion is suddenly necessary for Mr. I-know-everything."

Tony moved his mouth, but no words came out. He seemed to be having trouble deciding which of his questions to ask first.

Finally, he decided to settle with, "Is this about the salt thing? Because I wasn't the one who replaced your sugar with salt. It was Happy, 100 percent Happy."

Adelaide's eyes flashed with anger and she took a threatening step towards him. The billionaire took an uncertain step back.

"Happy was the one who saran wrapped the toilet seat too," Tony said, starting to run out of excuses. Adelaide let out a huff of air; that had not been a very fun trip to the restroom.

"I also didn't tell FRIDAY to remotely change the password to your phone," Tony said.

" _Actually, Sir, my records inform me that you had requested to remotely change Miss Rivers' password,"_ FRIDAY suddenly said, " _Do you need me to tell you the date of the request?"_

"Damnit, honest AI," the billionaire cursed under his breath.

"This isn't about any of those things!" Adelaide finally said. Tony let out a relieved breath until he realized he had apparently done something else wrong. And it seemed to be much worse.

He reluctantly opened his mouth to ask the question, "Then what is it?"

Adelaide glared at him. She couldn't believe him right now. She had been living with him for a year now and he still didn't understand her! How could he not see what was wrong when it was so obvious what she was mad about?!

"You," she said, taking a threatening step closer, "are sponsoring my school's science fair."

The billionaire had expected the teenager to blame him for a million other things, but this was definitely not one of them. Tony might have been a genius but this one had definitely stumped him. Were all teenagers so contradictory and confusing?

"And that's bad because...you don't want other kids becoming smarter than you?" he asked, dumbfounded. Adelaide almost groaned again. Tony was a genius but he could be totally dense sometimes.

"Don't you get it!" she shouted.

"So it's not because you're jealous of other kids' intellect?" he asked.

"No!"

"Um...then?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. Adelaide looked at him like he was the slowest person she had ever come across.

"If you came to my school," she explained, trying to keep her voice steady, "then people will find out that you know me."

Tony blinked. That's all? _That's_ what she had been so mad and raging about? That's _it_?

"Remind me why that is such a terrible thing?" he asked. Adelaide threw her hands up in the air, exasperated.

"Because I don't want people knowing!" she said, "I don't want people finding out that I live at the Tower! I don't want all of that attention! I like everything the way it is!"

"So you want me to not come to your science fair?" Tony asked the teenager. Adelaide turned to him again.

"Yes! See, you do get it!"

"And you want me to revoke my donation?" he asked.

"Yes, exactly!"

Tony nodded, the gears in his head spinning. He grabbed a towel off his table to clean the wrench in his hand as he propped himself up onto the table, letting his feet hang off the edge. Adelaide crossed her arms, studying his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"So let me get this straight," he said, wiping the wrench in his hand, "You want me to call the school and tell them that I won't be sponsoring their science fair this year and that they need to make an announcement to their students that the 5,000 dollar prize the winner was initially promised is cancelled?"

Adelaide opened and closed her mouth, but she said nothing. When he put it like that...No! That was his problem! He shouldn't have sponsored to begin with!

"Just do what you have to do but I don't want you coming to the science fair this year!" she said.

"I can't do that," he said, jumping off the table and putting his wrench back into his toolbox. He turned around and began working on his tinkering again.

"Why not?" he heard the teenager ask him.

"Because," he said, dropping the screwdriver and turning around to face Adelaide, "Pepper asked me to do it."

Adelaide dropped her arms to her side.

"She did?"

"Yeah, so go bother her, I'm busy," the billionaire said, turning his back on the teenager again. Adelaide sighed. If Pepper had asked Tony to do this it was probably for something to do with the company. Adelaide wouldn't be able to talk her out of it even if she wanted to.

There was only one thing left to do.

"I'm setting some ground rules," she said.

"Hey, why do you get to set the rules?" he said, turning to face her again.

Adelaide gave him a pointed look.

"Name the last rule you followed," she said and the billionaire rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he grumbled, turning around again. Adelaide found a stool and pulled it over to sit down next to him. She noticed he was working on his arc reactor and she backed away a bit. Those things could be a bit unstable sometimes.

"Rule number one, you have to pretend that you don't know me or Ned," she stated. He gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Rule number two, you cannot come in your suit," she said.

"Hey, people love the suit! It's a great party trick!"

"Well, save it for parties, not the science fair," Adelaide said, narrowing her eyes at him. He narrowed his back.

"You know, living with Pepper has made you into a mini version of her," he said, "Either that or all women are just mean."

"On behalf of all women, I apologize for trying to avoid chaos," Adelaide said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the billionaire. Had he ever really grown past the age of five?

"Hey, men aren't the ones who create problems," Tony said, pointing his wrench at her. Adelaide crossed her arms across her chest, raising her chin.

"Okay so how about the time the US air force tried to kill you because you were an unknown flying object?"

"That was a very long time ago!" Tony shouted defensively.

"Stupid is stupid!" Adelaide shouted back, dropping her arms to her side and pushing herself up onto her tippy-toes to come to level with him. She was still a few inches too short.

"Fine, I'll follow your stupid rules," he mumbled, returning to his work. Adelaide huffed.

"Good," she nodded, missing the smirk on the billionaire's face as she left the lab. How could she have forgotten that this was Tony I-Don't-Listen-To-Anyone Stark she had been trying to negotiate with?

* * *

"The decathlon is _so_ _not_ a sport," Adelaide argued. Ned's mouth fell open.

" _Not a sport?_ Of course it's a sport!" he argued. Adelaide rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"It's a decathlon — not a sport," she said, setting down her cup of water.

"The decathlon _is_ a sport! Peter, tell her!" Ned said, turning to face his friend beside him. Peter swallowed his food, glancing between the two of his friends. He did not want to get in the middle of this argument.

"Yeah, Pete," Adelaide said, staring at him with her piercing blue eyes, "Tell him that it's _not_ a sport."

"Uh...I...actually think, um...I think it is a sport?"

"Ha! See that, Adelaide?" Ned boasted.

"Oh come on! You're both wrong! Seriously, there's nothing sporty about the decathlon! There's no running or catching of any kind! Not. A. Sport — hey, Michelle back me up here."

"What?" the curly-haired girl asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Do you think the decathlon is a sport?" Adelaide asked. Michelle looked between the three of them with a bored expression.

"I think," she said, and Ned leaned forward anxiously, "that you're all idiots for wasting your time on a stupid question."

" _Черт_ , I knew she would say that," Adelaide cursed under her breath.

Michelle returned her attention to her book once again and a silence fell over the three of them. They quietly ate their lunch, avoiding eye contact.

"You started it," Adelaide mumbled, breaking the silence.

"No, you started it," Ned said.

"No, you did."

"No, you."

"Can we just drop it already!" Peter groaned in frustration.

"Fine," Adelaide grumbled, frowning at Ned.

"Yeah, okay," Ned sighed.

"Okay," Peter said, nodding gratefully. They were silent again until Peter cleared his throat.

"So are we going to do the science fair? I mean, Mr. Stark is going to be there," Peter said, getting giddy. Adelaide pursed her lips. She still wasn't over being mad at Tony for doing this without telling her. Then, she sighed. Peter did have a strange obsession with Tony, after all. She would do the project for him.

"I know, I can't wait!" Ned said, grinning.

And Ned too, apparently.

"Are you going to do it, Ada?" Peter asked, his face brightened with an excited grin. She hadn't seen him this happy since Ben had died.

"Sure, why not?" she answered.

"Yes! Now we just have to decide what we're going to do…" Peter said. Once again, a silence fell over them as they began thinking. Adelaide herself wasn't too good with computers so they would have to chose something that required minimal programming if they wanted her help. But she did know physics and she knew physics-related math (not the boring Algebra from school) and she _definitely_ knew light.

Ned was incredible with computers. He had hacked into HYDRA, after all. Granted, it was only access to a few specific files which had somehow deleted themselves and it had taken him almost a month to do it, he had still done it. Maybe the Avengers should hire him, Ned thought. He grinned to himself. Yeah, right.

Peter could do some great work with anything web-related or even plain old mechanics. He had tinkered around with his web shooters and other possible tools enough to know a few things about engineering. And he wasn't the best with hacking but he was better than Ada, at least. Well, everyone was better than Ada with that. The girl was brilliant with physics and chemistry and everything else but computers.

But what could they all make together?

"What if we made an Iron Man suit?" Ned said. Peter and Adelaide shared uneasy looks.

"Ned, don't you think that if it was that easy, someone else would have made it by now?" Peter asked. Ned frowned.

"Yeah, but we can just ask Mr–ow!"

Adelaide had kicked him under the table to prevent him from finishing that sentence. She glared at him and his eyes widened, realizing what he had been about to say.

"Mr who?" Peter asked.

"N-Nevermind," Ned mumbled, "I'll keep thinking."

They all fell silent again as they resumed thinking. Adelaide couldn't think of a single thing that they could all work on together.

"What if we made a…"

"A what, Pete?" Adelaide asked when Peter didn't finish his sentence.

"I don't know, I thought that maybe if I started the sentence, the idea might pop into my head," Peter shrugged.

"Well, did it?" Ned asked. Peter gave him a blank look.

"Yes, yes it did," Peter said, "That's why I said nothing."

Ned returned the blank look to his friend and Adelaide rolled her eyes at their childishness.

"Focus, guys," Adelaide said. They both sighed and returned to thinking again. The silence stretched on for even longer this time but none of them could think of anything. Until, finally, Peter said something.

"We could make a hoverboard!" Peter said excitedly, almost shouting.

"Like...the ones they sell at Walmart, Pete?" Adelaide asked. That earned her a disapproving look.

"No! Like _real_ hoverboards!" he said, "You know, the kind that _hover_!"

Ned and Adelaide both considered it, thinking about how they could make it. Ned could do the programming and Adelaide could easily handle the physics and help Peter with the engineering part of it too. Maybe this could really work…

"Peter, you're a genius!" Ned said, almost bouncing in his seat, "This is perfect!"

"I think it just might work," Adelaide grinned.

"Then it's final," Peter said, grinning as well, "We're going to make a hoverboard."

* * *

 **A/N: Question: How did you find this story?**


	43. Chapter 41

**A/N: Sorry this took a while to get out. I was going to upload last night but then I had an impromptu graduation I had to go to and I came home at like 11 so I was pretty frickin' exhausted. It also took a long time to write because I watched Endgame like two weeks ago and I was so traumatized that I couldn't even think about Marvel for a long, long time. I seriously still don't even want to think about it. It was the worst best movie ever. I can't even omg.**

 **Anyway so in the last chapter, Adelaide went off on Tony for agreeing to come to her science fair and then Adie, Peter, and Ned decided that they were going to make a hoverboard together for their project. And remember how Adie was searching Graves' office for drugs? Well, let's just say she finds out...something in this chapter. You'll see ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ **Aunknowntimelord: Wow, thank you so much! It really means a lot to me that you love this story! :)**_

 **Thanks to:** _ **IDK46, Aunknowntimelord, cotychan, sakurablossom142, iAyumiieeex3, INSECTgrl, Drakon85, 03Isabella, Kira Kirya, The Dirtiest Dan, FireandIce4664, Rose099, Lunalyne,**_ **and** _ **SakuraDagger15**_ **for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! You guys are awesomeee!**

* * *

 _"See you around,_

 _Double-O-Seven."_

* * *

Adelaide had a plan. Well, she had half a plan. It was good enough for her, she'd figure the rest out as it happened.

Her plan — her half-plan — was to follow Coach Graves to his house to see where he hid his drugs. Then she could anonymously call the police on him and he'd be fired. She hadn't worked out all the kinks yet, but it sounded like a perfectly foolproof plan to her. Easy stuff. It should be a piece of cake.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Peter asked as he saw his bus pull up, referring to the math session they had planned for tomorrow. Adelaide gave him a smile.

"If I don't die," she said and Peter laughed, thinking she was joking. Little did he know, she thought. She had already texted Happy earlier with some excuse so he wouldn't come to pick her up after school so now she was just standing outside with Peter and Ned, pretending to wait for her ride. Two seconds later, a big yellow bus pulled up and all the kids began getting inside.

"Bye guys," she told Peter and Ned as they climbed onto the yellow bus. They waved back and then the bus was gone. She waited for them to be out of sight and then she hurried back into the building where she knew Graves would be locking up his office at that exact moment.

When she got there, already invisible and in her suit, he was doing just that. Adelaide took a deep breath. She was going to catch him in the act this time.

She followed him all the way outside to where he had his rickety car parked in the staff parking lot. Adelaide turned herself visible once again and stepped onto the sidewalk where she quickly stopped a cab. Her eyes never leaving Graves' car, she slid into the cab.

"Follow that car!" she said.

"Anudder car chase - hey Blue Phantom!" the driver said.

Adelaide looked away from the old car pulling out of the lot to face the driver with a familiar flat cap and childish grin.

"Bobby?"Adelaide said in surprise.

"Hey, you're back!" Bobby grinned. Of all the cabs in Manhattan, she had never thought she would see the same cabbie twice. Especially not for another car chase.

"I need you to follow that car," Adelaide grinned, pointing to the same car they had followed last time. It was out of the parking lot now. Bobby pressed the pedal so fast that Adelaide was pushed back against her seat. She groaned, rubbing her head. She had forgotten how Bobby drove.

"Anudder car chase - just wait till I tell my pals about dis one!" he laughed, "My pals cawl me Double-O-Seven cause'o you! Best name I ever had! Better than Bubsy - that's what my ma used to call me. Let me tell yuh, gettin' through elementary school wit dat name was a real pickle."

And then he turned on his signature 80s music.

" _Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?"_

Adelaide grinned. Another 80s car chase. Maybe she should consider hiring Bobby for all of her car chases. He'd be much more fit for the job than Mr. Better-Safe-Than-Sorry-Happy-Hogan.

" _Out of the doorway the bullets rip, to the sound of the beat."_

Bobby sped past a couple of cars who honked at him and Bobby gave them the finger from his window. Adelaide held back her laughter, trying to regain seriousness before they arrived at wherever Graves was going. She hoped he was going home and she hoped that he liked keeping his doors unlocked so she could easily sneak around. Maybe he would even have the drugs taped to his front door to make her job easier.

" _Another one bites the dust. And another one gone, and another one gone."_

"So what are we followin' him fawh?" Bobby asked, glancing at the teenager through the rearview mirror.

"I'm trying to expose him, he's up to no good," Adelaide answered, her eyes never leaving the car.

"So what? He broke de law or somethin'?" he asked, dangerously avoiding a crash with a logging truck, "Did he murduh someone!"

Adelaide sighed.

"I wish I knew, Bobby," she answered.

"What a bastard," Bobby cursed, shaking his head. A corner of Adelaide's mouth tugged upward. As the Brooklynite barely swerved around a gas truck, Adelaide noticed that the skyscrapers were fading away and they were entering a more secluded area of Queens. Not only was it secluded, but it also seemed a lot more sketchy. The teenager spotted a couple of stoners blazing a joint in a dark alley as they drove by it. They both gave her dirty looks.

" _How long can you stand the heat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip._ "

"Yuh sure yuh wanna be here, kid?" Bobby asked, looking around uneasily, "It doan look safe."

"I've seen worse," Adelaide muttered, looking around. They had entered a trailer park now and the asphalt under the tires had been replaced with a dirt path. Adelaide decided it was best if Bobby turned around from here. She doubted very many cabs traveled through here and it was best if she didn't draw any attention to herself.

"Stop here," she told him and Bobby stopped the car, turning down his music. He turned around to face the teenager, adjusting his flat cap.

"I'd tell yuh tuh be safe, kid, but I've seen yuh on tv befawh. Knock em' dead, okay?"

Adelaide grinned. Everyone always warned her to be safe and careful but no one ever told her that she would be able to handle it. Just another reason why Bobby was awesome.

"Keep the change," Adelaide said, handing him a generous amount, "See you around, Double-O-Seven."

"It was fun doin' a car chase wit' yuh, Blue Phantom," he grinned, tipping his cap. Turning herself invisible, Adelaide stepped out of the cab and shut the yellow door behind herself. She waited until Bobby had safely driven away (while whistling to the tune of _West End Girls_ ) before she turned around and began following Graves' car which was going considerably slower now.

She had never expected for Graves to be living in a place like this. She knew they didn't pay the teachers too well but Graves must have had a bunch of extra cash lying around with all of these drugs he was buying. The teenager passed many people who looked qualified for at least three felonies each. She even passed a shaking car parked next to a trailer. Adelaide cringed. She did _not_ want to know what was going on there even if she did have a pretty good idea.

Adelaide tried to remember all the lefts and rights she had taken but it soon became helpless and she hoped that she would be able to find her way out of this place later. Worst case scenario, she missed her curfew and Tony came here looking for her.

Finally, the rickety car stopped next to a yellowing caravan trailer. Adelaide didn't bother hiding considering she was invisible and that there really was no place to hide in this open trailer park. Holding her breath as she stood next to the door of the caravan, she watched Graves step out of his car, grab his duffle bag from the backseat and pull out his keys.

Adelaide realized that the caravan was not nearly big enough to hold two people. If she went inside, he was bound to bump into her one point and blow her cover. She would have to stay outside until he left the caravan. The teenager had definitely not planned for this to happen. Never in a million years did she expect Graves to be living in a caravan. Although, seeing how much money he wasted on drugs, she should have seen it coming.

Graves went inside and Adelaide perched herself up on an old milkcrate to peek through the one window at the back of the caravan with her phone camera ready to snap evidence of him doing something illegal. Taking off his shirt, he opened up his fridge and grabbed a half gallon of milk and a pack of poptarts. He took it all to his Lazzy boy and switch on his box tv. It didn't turn on at first so he flicked the antennae and it flickered on. Satisfied, he swung a drink directly from the gallon and opened up his poptarts, tossing the wrapper on the floor.

For a while, he did nothing out of the ordinary. When his poptarts and milk finished he fished under the couch for something. Cigarettes. Pulling out a lighter from his pocket, he lit a cigarette and smoked for a bit. Adelaide was starting to think that maybe he didn't keep the drugs here until he abruptly stood up and walked into the kitchen which was only one step away from his seat. The teenager winced. He really did live in a small place.

Graves opened up the cabinet under the sink and fished around for something until his hand came back, closed around a small plastic bag filled with white powder.

 _Bingo!_

Grinning, Adelaide quickly clicked a couple of pictures of him holding the bag. And then a few more as he snorted it off his countertop. Triumph filled the teenager and she couldn't help but feel giddy. She had finally caught him in the act! Now she could get him fired and he would be gone for good!

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, shaking the caravan and almost knocking over a couple of beer bottles on the tv table. Adelaide adjusted her position to see whoever had been knocking on the door when Graves opened it. It was a bald, stout man in a beer-stained wife beater and a yellowing grin.

"What do you want, Eddie?" Graves groaned. Eddie smirked.

"Yuh got any mawh of what you're snawhtin'?" he asked.

"No," Graves said and he began to shut the door when Eddie stuck his foot in the way.

" _What_?" Graves hissed, looking tempted to break his neck. Eddie shrugged suggestively.

"I'm not beating someone up for you again," Graves sighed.

"Doan do dis tuh me, man!" Eddie begged, "How else am I gonna get money if I doan steal it from him - yuh can get toity percent of de pruhvits dis time, I swear!"

Graves narrowed his eyes at the overgrown man.

"Get a job, Eddie," her coach said, going to close the door on him again. Eddie wasn't fast enough to stop him this time and Graves shut the door.

"Fawty percent!" Eddie called through the door. Graves ignored him, pulling on his shirt and swinging a gulp from a beer bottle sitting next to the tv. He stuffed his keys in his pocket.

"I'll give yuh fifty, yuh greedy bastard!" shouted Eddie. A small smirk playing on Graves' face, he pulled on an old jacket and opened the door again where Eddie was standing there, scowling like a threatening hamster.

"Same place as last time?" Graves asked. Eddie nodded angrily. Adelaide jumped down from the milkcrate and hurried out to the front of the caravan to see them properly.

"He got anudder man tuh watch his back but he ain't much bigguh than yuh," Eddie said as Graves stepped out of the caravan. The short man eyed the other suspiciously. "I'll give yuh sixty percent if yuh tell me how yuh got dat eyepatch."

Graves laughed and gripped Eddie's shoulder almost threateningly.

"Don't ask too many questions if you know what's good for you, Eddie," Graves said, squeezing his shoulder.

Eddie nodded obediently and Graves dropped his hand. Adelaide could see the red marks where his nails had dug into Eddie's shoulder. She waited for them to walk away out of sight before she ran out from the side of the caravan and hurried inside. Pulling her shirt sleeve over her fingers, she grabbed the bag of cocaine and quickly snapped a picture of it before searching the rest of the caravan for any more drugs.

It hadn't even been five minutes when she heard the sound of a phone ringing. For a moment, she thought it was hers until she realized it was coming from outside. Adelaide froze. Graves was already back and there was no place to hide. Adelaide peeked through the door only to see that Graves was standing outside with his back to the caravan, talking on the phone. She was close enough to hear whoever was on the other line if she listened carefully but she decided that it was time to get out of here.

Holding her breath, Adelaide silently slipped out of the door and out of Graves' way. She noticed his knuckles had bruised and his jacket had a little blood stain on the collar. But that's not what caught her attention.

What caught the teenager's attention was when he said her name. Not Graves, but the man on the other line.

"She doesn't suspect anything, Lukov," Graves said.

Lukov? She had seen that name somewhere before...but where? Adelaide racked her brain, straining to remember.

" _And how is she doing with Stark?"_ Lukov asked.

Stark? Tony? Who the hell was Graves talking to? Something swirled in her stomach. She didn't like this feeling. Adelaide was finding it harder to keep breathing as this strange feeling washed over her.

"She has him wrapped around her finger," Graves said, "Just like you asked."

Adelaide's mouth dried. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

" _хорошо очень хорошо,"_ Lukov said. _(Good, very good.)_

He spoke Russian? Why was Adelaide getting such a strong instinct to run away?

"How much longer am I staying here, Lukov? It's been a year already. I say just do it already, everything is in place," Graves said. Adelaide swallowed, her throat tightening. Do what? What was everything in place for?

" _No, everything is not in place,"_ Lukov said, " _The plan is underway. Just a few more months. Keep under the radar until then. I'm this close, I refuse to lose now."_

Few more months until _what_? But Lukov had already hung up the phone and Graves was heading back inside. Adelaide was frozen in her position. She was still having a hard time believing what she had just heard and she tried to run over it all in her mind so she wouldn't forget it. A million questions were hammering her mind, but only one stood out in particular.

Who was Lukov?

Adelaide was restless.

Everyone had seen it. Tony had seen it, Pepper had seen it, and even the pizza delivery guy had seen it in the two minutes it had taken him to drop off the pizza.

But they knew the teenager – well, not the pizza delivery guy – and they knew she would come around on her own terms and talk to them when she was ready. They had learned the hard way that it was no use trying to pry it out of her until she was ready. So they had eaten pizza quietly and they had watched tv silently and the only word they had got out of the teenager was the 'Goodnight' she had mumbled as she headed to bed.

However, she did not get a wink of sleep that night. And when she woke up next day, she wasn't even tired. Her body was powered by curiosity at this point and she would continue to feel restless until she figured out what was going on.

So, just another typical day for Adelaide Rivers.

But she had another plan to help herself. Tony was going to be conveniently out all day tomorrow and Pepper didn't come home from work until late in the afternoon. But Adelaide would be well done with her plan by then if things went right. Once they had left, Adelaide grabbed her phone and her laptop and quickly headed downstairs to Tony's lab where she would finally find out who the hell Lukov was and why her heart was beating frantically every time she thought about him.

It was a bad – a terrible – feeling that had been weighing her down ever since she had heard his name. It was like her brain was trying to tell her something but all it could use was emotions and the one emotion she was feeling was fear. It wasn't just her brain either; her whole body had been on edge after hearing the name. Something just wasn't right about that man and she was going to figure out what.

Once she was inside, she laid her laptop on the table and dialed the number of a certain witch on her phone.

" _Hey, Adelaide,"_ Wanda answered. Adelaide took a deep breath.

"Hey Wanda, I need your help."

" _Are you okay? You sound worried,"_ the witch said. Adelaide booted up FRIDAY on Tony's computer.

"I'm fine. Listen, is Vision there?" she asked.

" _Yeah, he's here – hold on a sec...Viz!"_ There was a pause before Wanda spoke again. " _Is this about your parents again?"_

"I don't know," Adelaide answered honestly, sighing.

" _He's here,"_ Wanda said and Adelaide heard a little bit of shuffling before she heard Vision's voice on the phone.

" _Hello Adelaide,"_ he said.

"Hey Vision. Listen, I need you to tell me how to turn on incognito mode on FRIDAY so Tony can't see what I ask her," Adelaide said, "Do you know how to do that?"

" _Uh, yes, but may I ask why you need to hide something from Tony?"_ the android asked, sounding concerned. Adelaide sighed.

"It's a long story, but I just don't want to worry him," the teenager answered.

" _Adelaide, if you are in some kind of trouble then maybe you should –"_

"I'm not, I'm fine. I just need to know how to ask FRIDAY something without Tony finding out," she said. Vision didn't say anything for a while and then he sighed.

" _Alright, do as I tell you. Boot her up and then, on the computer, you should see a small icon in the bottom right corner. Click on it and when it prompts you with a terminal, type in this command: '_ Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth - incognito' _. The light should turn indigo, then."_

Adelaide did as he said and a moment later, the light flickered indigo.

"It worked. Thanks, Vision," Adelaide said.

" _You're welcome, Adelaide. And whatever you're doing, be careful, alright?"_

"Yeah, I will," Adelaide lied. She was done playing games. For the first time in months, she had the chance to figure out another token of her past and she was not going to let it slip away so easily.

" _Adelaide?"_ said a more feminine voice, " _Don't do anything stupid."_

"No promises, Wanda," Adelaide said, the corners of her mouth twitching.

" _I'm serious. If you don't wanna tell me, fine. And if you break your leg doing whatever you're doing, fine. But don't get yourself killed, alright?"_

"Yeah, yeah, okay," the teenager grumbled, "See you."

" _Yeah, bye."_

Taking a deep breath, Adelaide turned around to face the indigo-colored ball of light that was FRIDAY. Here went nothing.

"FRIDAY?"

" _Yes Miss Rivers?"_

"Give me everything you have on Lukov."

" _Just a moment,"_ the AI said, searching. Adelaide held her breath. She had searched the internet for Lukov but all she got was linkedin profiles of random businessmen. Although gut was saying one thing, her brain was turning up blank.

" _Which Lukov are you searching for? There seem to be several."_

"Um, the one that seems the sketchiest?" Adelaide tried.

" _...Here. Ivan Kazimir Lukov,"_ FRIDAY said and Adelaide's vision zeroed in on what the AI was projecting for her. Her heart was beating overdrive. Her mind seemed to be telling her, _this is it – this is what you've been looking for_. Her stomach was doing all kinds of twists and tumbles as the AI continued to load more information.

 _"Former Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivan Kazimir Lukov was born in 1941. His father presumably died in the war and mother was killed in a massacre shortly after Lukov had been born. Lukov miraculously survived and escaped to a nearby town where he was raised in an orphanage until he was old enough to join the Russian army where he fought in the Vietnam War until 1975. Back home, he fell in love with a German woman by the name of Mila Baker. The two were together for over a year until she died due to an unaccounted shooting in their town._

 _"He was awarded by the Russian government for serving in the war and he soon rose up to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1987 until 1991 when he retired. During the mid and late 20th century, Lukov was known to keep close relations with Arnim Zola and Alexander Pierce, both agents of HYDRA. Unrecorded by the government due to lack of evidence, Lukov was also affiliated with HYDRA. His degree of involvement with HYDRA is unknown. Currently, his location and activity are also both unknown. Was that information helpful, Miss Rivers?"_

Adelaide didn't know how to process all of that. Minister? Zola? Pierce? HYDRA? How did that all tie to Graves? Why did Lukov care about Tony? And how the hell did Lukov know about her?

" _Miss Rivers?"_

"Th-Thank you, FRIDAY. You can power off now."

" _Glad I could help,"_ the AI said and then her ball of light was gone, leaving the teenager in the dark lab all by herself.

For some reason, all Adelaide could think about was a distant memory of a terrifying smile. And it made her blood run cold.

* * *

 **A/N: Surprise, surprise, the climax is coming...**

 **Question: Who's your favorite character in this story?**


	44. Chapter 42

**A/N: Helllooo wonderful people. So I don't really know what else to say lmao. There's a scene here that I think you guys will realllly like, I know I did.**

 **Other than that, enjoy!**

 ** _lizlil: Don't worry, Adelaide will be just fine :)_**

 _ **Oriande Moonshadow: Haha I love Bobby too! And as for Graves powers, his good eye is real and he basically has x-ray vision through an experiment or something. And I'm excited for the Science Fair too! Lots of exciting things are going to happen soon!**_

 **Thank you to: _Oriande Moonshadow, hillybutt, avada96, and lizlil_ for either following/favoriting last chapter! Love all of you guys!**

* * *

 _"Oh Pepper hide yourself and_

 _where did you throw my pants?"_

* * *

"So what's going on with you, kid?" Happy asked, turning down the radio in the car. Adelaide glanced at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Happy shrugged, turning onto the street where Peter lived. It was later in the afternoon that same day and Adelaide was still pretty shaken up.

"You look lost in your own head," Happy stated. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine, Happs," the teenager answered.

"That's what everyone says," Happy said, rolling his own eyes. He started whistling to some tune playing from the radio and he parked the car in front of the apartment building where Peter lived. "I'll be here at 7, kiddo."

"See you, Happs," she answered, stepping out of the car. As she walked up the stairs, she couldn't help but think about how right Happy had been. She really was lost in her own head. Her thoughts felt so muddled, she couldn't tell where one ended and another began. It was a continuous cycle of FRIDAY's voice echoing in her mind and her stomach tying itself into knots. Her instincts were trying to warn her of something but she couldn't tell what; she couldn't remember.

Adelaide pressed the doorbell, shuffling on her feet. The teenager felt like there were a million eyes watching her even though she was alone in this hallway. Aunt May finally opened the door, her face lifting up into a big smile.

"Adelaide!" the woman exclaimed, pulling the teenager into a tight hug, "It's so nice to see you!"

"Y-You too, May," Adelaide said, trying to breathe through the bone-crushing hug. Finally, May released her and Adelaide let out a breath of relief.

"How have you been!" May asked, dragging her to the kitchen. Adelaide glanced around for help, but Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"I've been great, May, how about you?" the teenager asked, pushing herself onto the stool as May rummaged through the fridge for something. She came back with a slice of cake and handed it to the teenager.

"I've been fine," she answered with a smile, "How are your studies going?"

"They're...alright. Has Peter told you about the science fair?" Adelaide asked.

"Has he told me? That's all he talks about. Mr. Stark this and Mr. Stark that and on and on and on – do you want some milk with that?"

"No, thank–"

"Oh I almost forgot I need to call the plumber to fix a leak in the bathroom! I'll call Peter to come out," May said, standing up abruptly and hurrying out of the kitchen. Adelaide sat there with her mouth hanging open.

"Oh, Peter, Adelaide is outside and I'm calling the plumber," the teenager heard May say from the hallway.

"Okay Aunt May, tell me what he says," she heard Peter answer before he walked into the kitchen. He saw Adelaide sitting there, frozen and he offered her a small smile before opening up the fridge.

"She's gonna be okay, Ada," he answered, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. Adelaide sighed, looking down at her cake. Only then she realized that May had given her a knife instead of spoon to eat her cake. She pulled her lips in, swallowing. May was still...not okay about Ben's death. She had been like this, on edge, ever since he died. Adelaide thought she would have been better by now.

"Have you ever thought about sending her to therapy?" she asked, grabbing a spoon from the utensils holder on the countertop. Peter pulled out a stool and sat down in front of her with his glass of orange juice. He shook his head, biting his lip.

"I think she just needs some time," he said.

"Pete…" Adelaide whispered, glancing at him, "it's been four months."

"May's fine," he answered, staring at the countertop. Adelaide noticed how tightly he was holding his glass and she looked up at him again. He was hiding it so well that no one would suspect that he was hurting.

"Are you?" she whispered and he looked up, catching her eye. He sighed and looked away and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Can we just…not talk about this right now? I'm fine – I just – I can't think about this right now."

"Okay," Adelaide nodded, "But don't think that you have to ignore how you feel because May isn't okay."

"Yeah," he sighed, sipping his orange juice. Adelaide took a deep breath, staring at her cake. Great, now she made Peter depressed too. She internally groaned. This whole Lukov and Graves thing was messing with her head and she was spreading her depression like a plague.

"So when are we starting the project?" she asked, taking a bite of the chocolate marble cake. It practically melted in her mouth. Peter looked relieved for a change in topic.

"We should start right away since we only have a couple weeks to finish it," Peter answered.

"How's Tuesday, after school?" Adelaide asked, taking another bite of the cake. Had anything ever been so delicious?

"Great, I'll text Ned in our group chat," Peter said, putting his cup in the sink. He turned around, grinning. "Ready to do some math?"

Adelaide held back a groan. She hated doing math homework.

"Let's get it over with," she sighed, grabbing her backpack.

* * *

It finally was nighttime in Queens.

And it was the perfect time for a heist. A burglar had broken into a certain deli to loot the cash. From here, he planned on going to the comic book shop down the street. Easy money for a crook like himself.

The crook grinned to himself as he emptied the cash register. He was already getting excited about how much he could buy with this money. Maybe he'd buy his roomate some deodorant or something this time. God knew he needed it. The register was almost empty when he heard a sound that crooks like him hated: a siren.

"Shit!" he cursed, zipping up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Jumping over the counter, he almost knocked the register off. He ran across the store, glass from the broken window crinkling under his shoes as he jumped out of the window. He was running as soon as his feet hit the pavement. The sound of the siren was so loud that he knew the car was just around the corner now.

"We have a visual! Code 8, I need backup on the perp!" he heard the cop shout into his walkie. "Hey, stop right there, NYPD!"

"Damnit," he cursed again, running faster. He would have to shake the cop off somehow. He could see the end of the block coming up and an idea hit him. Pushing himself faster, he turned the corner. Before the cop did the same, he hid himself in an alley. Holding onto his bag, he watched as the cop turned the corner and skidded to a halt when he saw no perp.

"I've lost visual," the cop grumbled into the walkie on his shoulder as he looked around. "Heading north."

He waited for the cop to run ahead before stepping out from behind the trash can. He sighed in relief.

"Stupid cops," he grumbled to himself.

"Tell me about it," said a voice, "Stupid cops, trying to make the world a safer place. It's so annoying sometimes, isn't it?"

The crook looked around the dark alley frantically, trying to pin where the voice was coming from. Then a figure dropped in front of him and stepped into the light, revealing himself.

"Y-You're that Spider-Man kid," the crook stuttered. Peter grinned under his mask. Finally people were starting to recognize him; it was about time.

"The one and only," Peter said, outstretching his hands.

"Well listen here, I'm not giving you my money. Now either you get the hell out of here or I'll…" the crook finished his sentence by pulling out a handgun and pointing it at him.

"Oh in that case…" Peter said, taking a step back with his hands up, "I'll be on my way."

The crook smirked, satisfied. He watched Spider-Man as he shot one of his webs into the air and pulled himself up. He pocketed his gun, grinning to himself and shaking his head. Tonight was just too easy. They should at least give him a little challenge.

It seemed that his wish had been answered when he heard a soft thwip sound. The crook paused for a second, looking around. Suddenly, his feet were pulled out from under him and he screamed as his whole world turned upside down. Spider-Man jumped in front of him again, dusting his hands off. Peter tilted his head sideways, looking at the crook who was now hanging upside down from a rod in the wall by one leg. His bag of cash had been tossed aside, just out of his reach.

"Wait a second," Spider-Man said, stepping forward, "what's that on your hand…"

The crook instinctively grabbed his hand, searching for any marks or cuts. Peter grinned, shaking his head.

"You're just making it too easy," Peter said and shot out another web at the crook's hands, effectively webbing them together.

"Hey! What did you do! Get this off of me!"

"Hold still, dude," Peter said, yanking off the mask on the crook's face. Peter studied him with narrowed eyes and then grabbed the crook's webbed hands. He pulled up the sleeve on his left arm, searching his inner wrist for a certain tattoo. Peter sighed and dropped his hand when he found nothing.

It wasn't him.

"Let me go!" the crook protested.

Peter heard police sirens and saw the flash of red and blue lights. He stepped back from the crook, getting ready to make his escape. A cop ran into the alley with his handgun raised but he paused when he saw Spider-Man standing there.

"He's all yours," Peter told him and pulled himself up.

* * *

"Ada, you only have 80s music on here," Peter frowned, holding up her phone for her to see.

Adelaide glanced over her shoulder at him and then at her phone.

"I have 70s too," she shrugged, turning away again and carrying the rest of the pieces of wood onto the table. She wiped her hands onto her jeans, facing Peter again.

"Don't you listen to modern music, too?" Peter asked, searching through the music on her phone for some recent songs. Instead, all he came across was Van Halen and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

"Pete, nothing compares to old music," Adelaide told him, searching the shelves for a screwdriver. Just then, Ned walked in with a box of nails. "Hey, Ned, where do you keep your screwdriver?"

"Top shelf, on the right," he said, setting down the box.

"Got it," she said, grabbing it off the shelf. She blew the dust off of it, coughing. It looked like no one had touched this screwdriver for decades. She put it on the table, wiping her hands on her jeans again. It had been a few days since the incident with Graves and Adelaide had decided it would be best for everyone if she put a hold on her investigation until after the science fair.

"Thanks for letting us use your garage for our project, by the way," she told Ned. He answered as he searched the box of nails for something.

"No problem. My dad had a whole workshop here before but - _ow!_ \- then he changed his mind and became a - _ouch!_ \- chef. Now we have a pantry larger than the bathroom - _gah!_ "

"Uh...Ned?" Adelaide smiled, "Maybe you shouldn't dig through the box of sharp nails with your –"

"Aha, I found it!" Ned shouted, holding up a hammer. Peter stepped beside Adelaide, tilting his head at his friend holding the tool.

"One-hundred pounds of muscle and a little magic and you could be the next Thor," Peter teased. Ned lowered the hammer, rolling his eyes.

"So what are we going to start with first?" Ned asked, looking around the table. Peter held up Adelaide's phone.

"First, we're going to make Ada a new playlist," he said, looking at her, "with modern music."

Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Give me that," she grumbled, snatching her phone out of his hand.

"We don't have to listen to music while we work–" Ned started.

"Yes, we do," Peter interjected, holding up his hand, "It won't be any fun without it."

"Well I'm not making a new playlist," Adelaide said, scrolling through her songs. Old music was good...wasn't it?

"Ada, come on," Peter groaned, leaning his elbow on the table, " _Ouch!_ "

Ned grinned at him sheepishly, taking the nail out from under his friend's arm. Peter sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Play it on your phone, then," Adelaide mumbled, trying to pick a song to play so they could get started on the project.

"But my phone's dead," he whined, leaning on the table again. Adelaide tapped on a song and looked up, grinning at him.

"Well I guess that's too bad," she smirked and put her phone on the table, leaning against the wall. Peter narrowed his eyes at her.

 _"Welcome to your life...there's no turning back…"_

Peter sighed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Fine, you win...oldie," he grumbled the last part underneath his breath. Adelaide smacked his arm, knocking his elbow out from under him and almost making him hit his face on the table. Ned chuckled, typing something on his laptop.

"Weakling," Adelaide muttered, smirking. Peter let it slide, letting her have the last word and rolling his eyes.

"So I was thinking we could start with a rough blueprint," Ned said, clicking something on his laptop, "And I went ahead and made a schematic – a very rough schematic – for the wiring."

"Let's see it," Adelaide said, spinning the screwdriver in her hand as she leaned her elbows on the table. Ned turned the laptop so they could all see it. Adelaide studied it carefully, trying to decide which parts were strong and weak. She chewed on her lip as she tried to imagine how their hoverboard would look.

"Ned, this is actually brilliant," Adelaide said.

"Thanks," he beamed, "I thought once we had a sketch, we could make a 3D model with the CAD software on this computer."

"Uh...sure," Adelaide agreed, not understanding a word. "So...uh, how exactly are we going to make it hover?"

Peter and Ned looked at each other but when neither answered, they looked away. They all thought in silence for a while.

"What if we used magnetic levitation?" Ned suggested, "Like those maglev trains in Japan."

Adelaide considered it. It actually wasn't a terrible idea…

"But we would have to create a special magnetic surface for the hoverboard to ride over," Peter said, "And we want it to hover over any surface."

"Pete's right," Adelaide agreed, "We need something better."

They all resumed thinking again, each of them staring off into space. If someone were to walk in, they would almost believe that there were three teenage statues standing there.

"What about using propellers?" Adelaide suggested after some thinking. The boys considered it before answering.

"It could work…" Peter nodded slowly, studying the schematics again.

"How would we power them?" Ned asked.

"Lithium polymer batteries," Peter answered. Adelaide nodded, agreeing with him.

"You know what," Adelaide said, the gears in her mind spinning, "I'll have all the details for that figured out by tomorrow."

"Great," Ned said, "I have a logic board and a gyroscope from an old project that we can use. Once you have the propellers figured out, I can work up some code for the sensors and the gyroscope."

"I guess that leaves me with the designing," Peter said, "I'll have it done by tomorrow, too."

Adelaide grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Things were not going according to plan. For starters, they had almost blown up Ned's garage.

"Guys," Adelaide coughed, waving her hand in front of her face to clear off the smoke, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Peter coughed back, getting out from under the table.

"I'm fine," Ned croaked, standing up again. They all looked around the garage, blinking rapidly in the smoke.

"Trial one," Adelaide said, pulling out their log, "fail."

"If our goal was to almost die, then I think we did a pretty good job," Peter said, coughing still. Adelaide handed him a water bottle and he took it gratefully, swallowing it down in seconds.

"I'll open up the doors to let the smoke out," Ned said and he pressed a button next to the doors, causing the shutter to pull up. They were all grateful for the wind that came in and took the smoke away. After a few minutes, it was breathable again and they all stared at the burnt metal sitting on the table. If they were quiet enough, they could hear it still sizzling.

"I'll get rid of it," Peter said, picking it up with a pair of pliers. He carried it over to the bin, keeping it at a distance in case it exploded again.

"So now we're out one lithium polymer battery and scarred for life," Adelaide observed, glancing at the log sheet they had made to keep track of their progress or lack thereof in this case. "Maybe I should leave the observations part blank for this trial."

"What did we do wrong?" Peter asked, looking through their design again. His voice still sounded raspy from the smoke, Adelaide noticed.

"We let the electrodes touch," Ned groaned, realizing their mistake. "It short circuited."

"Lesson learned," Peter nodded, brushing off his sleeves, "Don't let the electrodes touch. Ever."

"Alright," Adelaide sighed, "Let's try it again."

They worked on the project for a few hours without creating any more explosions, thankfully. By the time they were done, they had created the carbon fiber skeleton of the hoverboard and even started on the propellers. They obviously still had quite a way to go, but the hoverboard was finally coming together. At this point, it only looked like a rectangle with circles at the bottom.

"Well," Adelaide said, screwing in the final screw, "I guess we're done for the day."

"I'll work on the programming and I should be done with it in a couple days," Ned said, typing something on his computer. Adelaide noticed Peter was smiling at their hoverboard.

"I'm proud of it, guys. I mean, it can only fly for 10 minutes before we have to charge it again and it almost killed us, but I'm proud of it," Peter said. Adelaide grinned, rolling her eyes.

"Are you in love with our hoverboard, Pete?" she asked him as she grabbed her stuff, getting ready to leave. He grinned at her, gathering his stuff as well.

"Yes, yes, I am," he said solemnly.

"Weirdo," she and Ned said at the same time. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I'm still proud of it."

"Bye Ned!" Adelaide called over her shoulder as she walked out of the garage. He was still furiously typing something on his laptop.

"Yeah, bye," he mumbled, not really paying attention.

"See you, dude!" Peter said and Ned half-heartedly waved in goodbye.

The two teenagers walked out of the garage, laughing together at their friend. The sun had set hours ago and it was so dark out already, the stars were visible. Adelaide had already texted Happy a few minutes ago so he should already be on his way. She assumed Peter had already called May to pick him up and they both sat down at the end of the driveway where it met the road. Adelaide sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked up at the stars. Everything was so quiet in this little corner of Queens.

"You ever think about what's out there?" Peter asked, leaning back on his hands and looking up as well.

"I try not to," she chuckled, "I don't like not knowing."

"Well you can't know everything," Peter laughed. Adelaide shrugged, now staring at the road in front of them.

"You're right," she whispered, thinking about her parents. She liked to picture that they were one of those stars, looking down at her. "Do you think about them a lot? Your parents, I mean."

Peter sighed, dropping his head. He closed his eyes, breathing in.

"Everyday."

"I think they'd be proud of you, Pete," she said, looking at him. He looked up, catching her eyes.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah," she nodded. He gave her a small smile.

"Why wouldn't they be proud? We did make one hell of a hoverboard," he grinned and Adelaide laughed, shaking her head. She caught him looking at her and she smiled.

"What?" she asked. He shook his head, looking away.

"You don't laugh enough," he said. Adelaide looked up at the sky again, sighing. One of the stars twinkled.

"Neither do you, Pete," she whispered.

"I know," he said quietly, "It's hard."

Silently, Adelaide scooted over and laid her head on his shoulder. She didn't think about what she was doing; all she knew was that they were both hurting and they needed a friend.

"I know," she whispered, closing her eyes.

A second later, he rested his head against hers and they both sat there together in their serene silence, lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

When Adelaide got back to the Tower, Tony and Pepper were nowhere to be seen. This wasn't the first time they had disappeared on her but last time they had, Adelaide had walked in on something that she never ever _EVER_ wanted to see again.

She considered not looking for them and going straight to bed, but it was almost 12 and Pepper would never stay out that long without telling her about it. Sighing, Adelaide decided that maybe she should make sure they were home, just in case.

Dropping her backpack on the couch, she mentally prepared herself to find them. Walking down the hall, she listened for any signs that she should just run back to her room and never leave it again. To her surprise, she could hear music. That was either a really good sign or a really bad one. Taking her chances, she knocked on their bedroom door.

She waited for a minute but no one opened. Adelaide figured they couldn't hear her over the music. With a deep breath and a hand covering her eyes, she twisted the doorknob and pushed it open.

"Are you guys decent?" she asked loudly, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh Pepper hide yourself and where did you throw my pants?" Tony said in a squeaky voice, teasing the teenager.

"Shut up, Tony. Yes, Adelaide, we're decent," Pepper said and Adelaide could hear the smile in her voice.

Carefully, the teenager opened her eyes. Thank God, they were both standing on opposite ends of the room and...folding clothes? The whole room was a mess with clothes and shoes and handbags strewn all over the place.

"Why are you packing?" Adelaide asked, confused.

"We're going to some stupid conference in LA," Tony said, tossing his shirts onto the bed.

"It's not stupid," Pepper said, rolling her eyes, "It's for the company. It's an annual thing for the investors so they can discuss how good or bad the company is doing."

"Sounds boring," Adelaide said, "Can I come?"

"No, you have school," Pepper said, taking her dresses off of their hangers, "We'll only be gone for a few days and Happy's going to stay here to look after you."

Adelaide laughed.

"You're keeping Happy to babysit me?" the teenager asked, sitting down on the chaise lounge. Pepper walked over to her, putting her dresses on the chaise lounge, next to her feet.

"Yes and you're going to listen to him and behave," Pepper said sternly. Behind the woman, Adelaide could see Tony shaking his head and mouthing the word 'no' to her.

"Cut it out, Tony," Pepper said without even looking back. The billionaire grinned and resumed his packing.

"When are you going to be back?" Adelaide asked, looking through the dresses Pepper had left beside her.

"The morning of your science fair," Tony answered, grinning at her. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him.

"And here I was, worrying that you would miss it," she said. Tony gave her one his famous Stark grins.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said, making her roll her eyes. Adelaide stood up, yawning.

"Alright, have fun. I'm going to bed," she said.

"Oh, Adelaide, wait," Pepper said, making the teenager turn around, "How did your science project go?"

"We almost blew up Ned's garage, but then we figured it out," she grinned. Pepper smiled, shaking her head and Tony caught the teenager's eye. He tapped his head and then pointed to her, smirking.

"Smart genes," he said and the teenager rolled her eyes again, smiling.

"Night guys," she said, closing the door behind her.

* * *

 **A/N: One hoverboard coming right up!**

 **Question: How was your day? :)**


	45. Notice

**Hey guys! I know you've been antsy for a new update and I've been working very hard on getting it to you.**

 **Buutttt, for the moment being, I have some exciting news.**

 **So Spider-Man: Far From Home premieres on June 26th but GUESS WHAT ELSE IS ON JUNE 26TH?**

 **THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THIS STORY!**

 **What a coincidence, right? Anyway, so I obviously decided to do something special and that's a surprise that I'm going to reveal on the 26th when I publish the new chapter.**

 **But before I did that, I wanted to publish the cast. I know that you're supposed to publish the cast at the beginning of the book but, let's be honest, how many times did you remember how all the characters looked by Chapter 50? So that's why I'm doing it now and since this is fanfiction, there's not many new faces that you'll see. Obviously you don't have to picture them, but I just want you guys to see who I picture when I write these characters.**

 **So to sum up, June 26th is the one year anniversary of this story and I am HYPED.**

* * *

 _PHOEBE TONKIN_ as _Adelaide Rivers_

 _TOM HOLLAND_ as _Peter Parker_

 _JACOB BATALON_ as _Ned Leeds_

 _ROBERT DOWNEY JR._ as _Tony Stark_

 _GWENYTH PALTROW_ as _Pepper Potts_

 _RALPH FIENNES_ as _Ivan Lukov_

 _KURT RUSSELL_ as _Graves_

 _ZENDAYA_ as _Michelle Jones_

 _TONY REVOLORI_ as _Flash Thompson_

 _LAURA HARRIER_ as _Liz Allan_

 _MARISSA TOMEI_ as May Parker

 _KATIE HOLMES_ as _Avalyn Rivers_

 _BRYAN MILLS_ as _Henry Rivers_

 _And the Avengers as themselves._

* * *

 **If you want to see pictures of the cast, just copy and past this link and it will take you to the other website where I publish this story:** 732188205-into-the-light-peter-parker-x-oc-casting

 **Can't wait until the 26th!**


	46. Chapter 43

**A/N: Today's the day! Happy one year anniversary of Into the Light! You probably think I've gone crazy for making such a hugeee deal out of an anniversary but I literally never finish my books and this is the first one to get this far so seriously guys, thank you so much for sticking with me and Adie for a whole year. It means a lot to us :).**

 **So as I've been boasting, I made a little surprise to celebrate this one year anniversary and here's the link to it:** **/y_fcmtotZSE**

 **I hope you guys like it!**

 **Anyway, so considering how special today is, this chapter is obviously just as special. It's a whopping 9,000 words long and at the end, you'll get read a little bit about Adie's past. This chapter officially marks the beginning of the revealing of Adie's past and veryyyy soon (as in Civil War soon) you'll get to read about her entire past, no secrets or suspense left. I'm so excited I can't wait to see all your reactions when that happens!**

 _ **Fluffymarshmallows: Thanks! Engineering is basically my major lol so I knew a couple of things and I researched a bit more. The hoverboard they designed is actually inspired by Duru's Omniboard which is also made with propellers and can hover over any surface, which is pretty cool.**_

 _ **Oriande Moonshadow: Spot on! Something will happen while Iron Man is away...*suspenseful music begins playing* Also, I would have written during my roadtrip, but my phone's been super glitchy lately so I couldn't :(**_

 **Thank you to:** ** _Fluffymarshmallows, Oriande Moonshadow, refractedmoonlight, kantuschi96, GoddessOfShadows, Ironknight3307, HorrorFan13, Skylar97, and Shion Lee_** **for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! I love reading all your reviews, thank you so much for writing them!**

* * *

 _"Hurry up and help me color!"_

* * *

 _ **Pepper:**_ _You're not going anywhere until_ _we get there._

 _Why not? I'm only going upstate,_ _I'm not leaving the country._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _I said no._

 _ **Tony:** ^_

 _But I'm only going to meet the team!_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Why do you have to go now of_ _all times? What's such an emergency that it can't_ _wait until we come back?_

 _ **Tony:** ^^_

Adelaide winced. If she were to tell Pepper the exact reason why she wanted to go upstate, then she would probably remotely initiate a secret lockdown mode in the Tower and not even let the teenager leave to go to school until she came back from her trip. Sighing, Adelaide texted back a reply.

 _I just miss the team, that's all. It's_ _been a while since I've seen everyone._

 _ **Tony:** ^^^_

 _ **Tony:**_ _Btw while you're there,_ _you mind kicking Cap's ass in pool_ _to remind him how much he sucks_ _at the game?_

 _Will do._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _I didn't say you could go._

 _Please?_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Fine. But Happy will take you there_ _and back and stay with you the whole time. I_ _don't want you wandering out by yourself._

 _Thanks Pep, you're the best :)_

 _ **Tony:** ^ __ditto_

 _ **Tony:**_ _Don't forget the pool thing_

 _I won't._

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Tony, did you leave our hotel key_ _card somewhere?_

 _ **Tony:**_ _I thought you had it_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _I gave it to you this morning..._

 _ **Tony:**_ _It's funny you thought I was playing_ _attention while I was playing pool_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Get another one and get your_ _butt back here now. I'm boiling outside._

 _ **Tony:**_ _I'm kind of in the middle of something_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _What could be more important_ _than this?_

 _Pool?_

 _ **Tony:**_ _Bingo!_

 _ **Pepper:**_ _Get. Back. Here. Now!_

 _RIP Tony :)_

 _ **Tony:**_ _Shut up, kid_

Laughing to herself, Adelaide tossed her phone onto her bed and then let herself fall beside it. She needed to go upstate to clear her head before the day of the science fair came around. Not to mention that she needed the help of a certain android. And what she had told Pepper wasn't a complete lie: she really did miss the team.

So Adelaide texted Happy to pack his bags as well and within half an hour, they were on their way upstate. Luckily, Happy let her play her 70s/80s playlist without complaining like Peter had.

"So what's been going on with you, kid?" Happy asked, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song. Adelaide shrugged.

"Same old," she answered, "We're making a hoverboard for our science fair project."

"A hoverboard?" Happy asked, letting out a low whistle, "That's a nice one. Who came up with that?"

"Peter," she answered.

"Is he the weird one?" Happy asked, glancing at her. Adelaide gave him a confused look. They both had their quirks but she didn't know what was weird in Happy's dictionary.

"Define weird," she said.

"You know, the one who's obsessed with Tony. He's got glasses I think and this really weird...dorky thing going on," Happy tried to explain, "Oh, I think he's the one you kissed."

Adelaide almost choked on air.

"I - _How do you know about that?_ " she exclaimed.

"You know, for a superhero, you're kind of obvious. Maybe you should work on that."

Adelaide groaned loudly. She did not like this conversation at all. She couldn't believe she was talking with Happy about kissing Peter. She wanted this conversation to end right now.

"You didn't tell anyone, did you?" she suddenly asked, sitting up in her seat.

"Well…" Happy winced.

"Happy!" she shrieked, smacking his shoulder.

"Relax, kiddo, I didn't tell anyone," he laughed. Adelaide fell back into her seat, relaxing.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this," she threatened.

"Why is it such a big deal? You're a teenager, isn't that what kids your age do?"

"If you haven't noticed, I do a lot of stuff kids my age normally don't do," she grumbled.

"So you like him. Just tell him, don't drag it out," he said. Adelaide wondered when Happy had become her relationship advisor.

"I don't like him!" she argued, throwing her hands up. Happy snorted.

"Yeah, right. You remember how I said you're obvious, right?" he said. Adelaide scowled.

"You're lucky you're driving right now, Happs," she grumbled, running her hand through her hair. He was being ridiculous. Peter was her best friend. She didn't like him. It was simple as that. And that kiss had been a mistake. They had both been angry and it was just in the moment. No big deal. Just a simple little overlookable mistake.

Adelaide spent the rest of the drive trying to not think about it without much success.

By the time they had gotten there, the sun had already set and it was starting to get dark. While Happy unloaded the car, Adelaide headed inside. Steve was in the lobby to greet her this time and the supersoldier pulled the teenager in for a giant hug that only he could give. He smelled like bar soap and clean laundry.

"Hey Steve," Adelaide grinned once they had pulled away. She really had missed this big guy. He ruffled her hair and she frowned, trying to fix it. Why did people always mess up her hair?

"Hey Happy," Steve said, nodding his head at him as he walked in hauling a couple of bags behind him.

"Hey Captain," Happy nodded, dragging the bags inside. Adelaide was just about to follow Steve inside when Vision walked through the wall, almost giving both of them a heart attack.

"Hi, Vision," she said, calming down her heartbeat. He paused for a moment before answering.

"Hello Adelaide," he nodded, "Glad to see you here."

The teenager glanced at the supersoldier standing beside her. Vision had seemed to already catch on as to why the teenager had made a sudden visit.

"Thanks," she smiled and then turned to Steve, "Where's Nat?"

"Down in the training room," he answered, "I'll go tell her you're here."

"No, I'll do it," Adelaide grinned and Steve nodded, stepping aside to let the teenager go. She knew her way through the compound fairly well so she easily found the training room. As she walked down the stairs, she could hear the assassin training behind the door. Listening closely, she could tell she was practicing with knives.

Adelaide made herself invisible, deciding to play a little trick on the assassin. Quietly, she opened the door, letting herself inside. She had been right: Nat was doing a little target practice with knives. The teenager silently snuck up on the assassin but just as she was about to tackle her, Nat turned around and pinned Adelaide to the floor with a knife hovering over her throat.

Groaning, Adelaide made herself visible again. Natasha grinned, getting up and then offering her hand to the teenager.

"I was silent," Adelaide grumbled, taking her hand. She dusted her pants as Nat aimed the knife at the target. She tossed it and it landed in the bull's eye, not so surprisingly.

"But I was fast," the assassin grinned cockily. Adelaide rolled her eyes which were still slightly glowing blue.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"So what are you doing here?" Natasha asked, grabbing her water bottle from the ground and chugging it.

"Just...missed the team, that's all," the teenager shrugged. Nat stopped drinking the water, lowering her water bottle.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I know," she sighed.

Natasha shrugged. "So why are you here?"

"I missed the team," Adelaide said, narrowing her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Blue," the assassin smirked, tossing the teenager her water bottle. Adelaide caught the bottle, scrunching her nose in confusion.

"Who's Blue?" the teenager asked, tossing the water bottle back.

"You." _Toss_.

"Me?" _Toss_.

"Yeah." _Toss_.

"Why?" _Toss._

Natasha shrugged again, taking a sip from her water bottle.

"It's your new nickname," she said, walking past the teenager and ruffling her hair, "Come on, Blue, _Я голоден_."

Grumbling under her breath about people's lack of care for her hairstyle, Adelaide followed the assassin upstairs, trying to put her hair back into place.

* * *

It had taken a whole hour and a game of pool against Steve (which, she had won) before she finally got Vision and Wanda alone. Her game with Steve had started a spontaneous pool tournament and Adelaide had followed Vision and Wanda into the kitchen where they were making spaghetti for everyone. Well, Wanda was making the spaghetti while Adelaide and Vision were pretending to help.

"You're stirring it wrong, Vision," Wanda said, taking the spoon out of the android's hand. He looked at the teenager who merely shrugged. If there was a worse cook than Adelaide – well it was probably Tony, but even worse than him would probably be Vision. The android took a seat next to the teenager on top of the island and they both sat with their legs crossed.

"I presume you're not here to eat spaghetti," Vision said, looking at Adelaide.

"No," she answered, staring at the pot Wanda was stirring the sauce in.

"Don't bother lying this time," Wanda said, blowing on a spoonful of the sauce to cool it down. She gave the spoon to Adelaide to taste and the teenager gave her a thumbs up after trying it.

"I...need your help," Adelaide said, turning to Vision, "What do you know about Ivan Lukov?"

"Ivan Lukov?" Vision asked, his expression turning serious, "Why do you want to know about him?"

"I think he's been watching me, keeping track of me. And – not just me but Tony, too. Well, not him exactly. See, I have this gym coach – he joined a while ago – and he has this whole eyepatch and weird thing going –"

"Start from the beginning, Adelaide," Wanda said, her face serious as well. Adelaide glanced between the two of them and took a deep breath.

She told them everything. Everything starting all the way from Coach Ross and his murder, the note, how her new coach had joined and how she had passed out at the sight of him. She told them about following Graves to the tow pound and how he had bought drugs. She told them how she followed his car to his caravan where she found the drugs and how she had overheard his phone call with Ivan Lukov who knew her name. She told them how they were both planning for something big in a few months and she told them everything FRIDAY had told her about Ivan Lukov including HYDRA and Pierce and Zola.

And when she was finally done, Adelaide felt amazing to have gotten it all off her chest.

"So that means Lukov is affiliated with HYDRA but there's no hard evidence to prove it," Vision said.

"But I don't understand what Lukov would want with you," Wanda said. Adelaide shook her head.

"I don't either," she said.

"What else do you know about your coach?" Vision asked.

"Nothing," Adelaide sighed, "He's sketchy and he does drugs but I don't know anything else."

"My records tell me that Lukov worked closely with Zola and Pierce. They were fleetingly known as the Golden Trinity of HYDRA and the Red Skull in the early 20th century. Zola developed the algorithm used in the flash drive for Project Insight," Vision said, "That means Lukov must have been a part of Project Insight as well since Pierce administered it when HYDRA infiltrated SHIELD last year."

"But he never surfaced when Nat and Steve took down HYDRA," Adelaide said, "The last the media saw of him was when he retired as the Russian Minister of Foriegn Affairs in 1991. There haven't been any pictures or sightings of him since."

"That's odd," Wanda said, tilting her head, "Ministers like to stay involved even after retirement."

"Not if they're hiding a secret," Vision said.

"So you're saying that he did something with HYDRA and then went into hiding by saying he was retiring?" Adelaide asked.

"Precisely," the android nodded. Adelaide thought about it as she stared at the pot of bubbling red sauce. Pierce and Zola were both dead now and Lukov was the only one alive out of the three of them. That meant he must have done something that Pierce and Zola didn't. That probably meant that at some point he had betrayed them without their knowledge. Could Project Insight have been the reason he went into hiding? Or was it something entirely different? And how did Adelaide relate to any of this?

"If he's gone into hiding, then the only known person still in contact with him has to be Graves," Adelaide said.

"Of course," Vision agreed, "All we need to do is trace his call to Lukov."

"But we need Lukov's number for that," Adelaide said.

"That's why you will get your coach's phone and get Lukov's number from his caller or contact list," Wanda said, tasting the sauce, "Отлично."

"And then?" the teenager asked.

"I'll handle the rest," Vision said.

"Why don't you just tell Tony about this?" Wanda asked, straining the spaghetti. Adelaide sighed, a familiar feeling washing over her. She had never said the reason aloud or even admitted it to herself but she was sure of it now more than ever.

"I'm scared," she said quietly, "Whenever I think about telling him, something stops me. Like if I told him, then...something really bad will happen."

"To him or to you?" Wanda asked. Adelaide looked the witch in the eye, fear roiling inside her.

"Me."

What Adelaide didn't know, was that many bad things had already happened and there were many more to come.

* * *

That night, Adelaide couldn't sleep. Not very surprising as she rarely got much sleep to begin with.

What she had told Wanda wouldn't stop circling in her head. Wanda was right: if Adelaide just told Tony everything then maybe this problem could be solved in a matter of days. But her every instinct was telling her not to. Every time she considered it, she began to feel a burning sensation in her veins as if she were being burned alive. It was all in her head, of course. The feeling was only a memory. A very vivid memory.

But it was okay because now she had a plan. She would get Graves' phone and find Lukov's number and track him down. Then she would get all her answers. Yet, for some reason, Adelaide doubted it would be that easy. Things tended to go...disarray whenever she came close to finding answers.

It was well past midnight when she finally found sleep. But it was a very restless night.

 _She was surrounded by darkness, her biggest fear._

 _She worried that if she took even two steps forward, she would run into something...or someone. So she stood absolutely still. Until, she suddenly saw her reflection in all the blackness._

 _Something wasn't right about it._

 _The scar on her arm was gone, her eyes were brown, and when she tried to use her powers, nothing happened._

 _"What's wrong?" said a familiar voice behind her, "Did you break?"_

 _Adelaide turned around but no one was there._

 _"Stark, he'll show you happiness, but you will never be happy with him. He's dark. Like a wilting flower," said the voice._

 _"What do you want?" Adelaide whispered through gritted teeth. She felt someone touch her chin, lifting it up._

 _"You," he said, and Adelaide could feel his cold smile, "my greatest weapon is you."_

 _"Who are you?" she whispered with a shaky voice._

 _"A lot of things," he answered, "But first, I am your savior. You've lost a lot, little girl. But I gave you much more."_

 _Adelaide stayed silent. The voice was talking in circles around her but she still couldn't see his face and she was too terrified to move a muscle._

 _Her reflection changed again and this time, she had a gun in her hand._

 _"Use what you know, be who you really are," he said as the blackness faded away into Sokovia._

 _She was standing on the edge — the city was already in the sky. The only problem was that there was no one else here. Except..._

 _Adelaide turned around. Rosie was standing there, hugging her doll. She had a hole in her chest clotted with blood. Her eyes were dark and sunken in her sockets. The skin on her small body was graying._

 _"Rosie..." Adelaide whispered, her eyes filling up, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. So, so—"_

 _"Do what he told you," she said._

 _"What?" Adelaide whispered, searching the child's face. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, stepping towards the girl. "Rosie, it's me."_

 _"Do it," she said, her face void of emotion._

 _Adelaide had a sinking feeling in her chest. She knew what the girl meant. The voice had told Adelaide to be who she really was. She knew what that meant._

 _"Do it," Rosie said again. Adelaide took a step back._

 _"No," she whispered, her tears falling down her face, "No."_

 _"Use what you know. Be who you really are," Rosie said, taking a step forward. Adelaide took another step back. She was at the edge; she couldn't go back any more._

 _But there was always a choice. Step back and end it for herself or stay here and do what she had always done._

 _"I can't," Adelaide cried, falling to her knees. She closed her eyes and her hand with the gun, as if it were guiding her, raised itself up and pointed the weapon at Rosie._

 _"Do it," Rosie said. Adelaide felt her voice wrapping itself around her neck._

 _"I'm sorry," she whispered, dropping her head and pulling the trigger._

 _When she opened her eyes, instead of seeing Rosie, Adelaide saw Peter laying there with a bullet hole in his chest oozing with dark blood. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth._

 _"Nonononono...No! Pete! Peter!" she screamed, running over to him. She tried stopping the blood but he was already dead. She placed his head in her lap, running her hands over his face repeatedly._

 _"I'm-I'm sorry," she sobbed, hugging him, "Please come back. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Wake up, Peter please! Please...please...please..."_

 _"You could have saved him," whispered her mother's voice, "Just how you could have saved us."_

 _"This is what you do, Dellie," said her father's taunting voice, "Wherever you go, you leave a path of destruction."_

 _"You deserve to suffer," said Tony's voice, "You deserve it all."_

 _"He's gone," Pepper whispered, "And so are hundreds of others. All because of you..."_

 _"No...No," Adelaide cried, covering her ears, "Stop! Stop it!"_

 _"You could have saved him...all your fault...suffer...pain...because of you..."_

 _The voices circled around until she screamed. And then there was silence._

 _With shaky hands, Adelaide touched Peter's cold cheek._

 _"This," the voice grinned, the sound echoing in her skull, "is who you really are."_

 _He was right. A murderer. She was cold and ruthless and unforgiving._

 _And that was all she knew._

Adelaide woke up with a gasp. Her surroundings flooded her vision until she realized where she was.

It was just a nightmare. A terrible nightmare.

Her throat began to tighten and she realized that she needed to get out of the room. Everything seemed to be closing in on her and she couldn't breathe. Scrambling out of her bed, she stumbled out of her room and ran through the hallway, trying to find an exit.

She finally found one at the end of the hall and she stepped outside, finally being able to breathe again. The teenager sat down on a bench, holding her head in her hands and trying to catch her breath.

That nightmare had felt so real. She could still hear all the voices screaming at her. Adelaide pressed her hands against her ears, trying to get it to stop.

She was so tired, she realized. Exhausted, even. She was sick of pretending everything would be okay. It had been over a year since she had woken up in the Stark Tower and she was still in the same place. She was a scared little girl with more questions than she could answer.

Why couldn't she escape it? Why did she constantly feel like she shouldn't be happy? After everything, why her? What had she done?

Who was she?

And how could you run from yourself? Adelaide felt foreign in her own skin. There was still so much she didn't know about herself. And there was no one to tell her. She had Tony and Pepper and everyone else in her life, but she had never felt so alone. She felt like an outcast. Like she didn't deserve to be with them. Why was it so hard for her to move on? Why was she stuck in the same place she had been a year ago? When was this all going to end? Would it ever?

Adelaide sighed, rubbing her face.

It was no use trying to think. Her thoughts always went in circles and she always ended up in the same place. She leaned her head back, resting it on the bench. There was no way she was going back to sleep or even so much as closing her eyes. She stared at the sky, studying the stars.

 _You ever think about what's out there?_

When Peter has asked her that, she told him she didn't like not knowing. But maybe she was better off that way. Maybe she would be happier without knowing the truth about herself. Because every time she wondered, she felt a fear. A fear of herself, of the person she really was.

Maybe Peter was right. You really couldn't know everything. And she would have to make peace with it.

Sighing again, she looked down. She realized that her phone was in the pocket of her jacket which she must have grabbed on her way out the door. Adelaide pulled her jacket on and turned on her phone, scrolling through it until her thumb was hovering over Peter's number. Her eyes flickered up to his contact picture. She had taken it during one of their math tutoring sessions.

Peter had finished his homework before her and he had been fiddling with her phone without her knowledge. He had taken hundreds of selfies on her phone just to bother her and when she had caught him, she made him let her do the same on his phone. He had this ridiculous grin on his face in the picture that made him look like a little kid.

On his phone, her contact photo was a slightly blurry picture of her laughing from the moment when he had tried to take his phone from her hands.

Without letting herself overthink it, she pressed his number and called him. She waited for him to pick up but all the rings went through and he didn't. Of course he didn't. It was 4 in the morning. Adelaide sighed. She was about to hang up when she heard the beep for the voicemail box.

"Hey Pete," she heard herself saying, "I um...I know you're probably sleeping because you have school tomorrow and it's really _really_ late. But I um...I don't know why I called. I just — I thought — I don't know...okay...bye."

Adelaide tossed her phone onto the bench beside her, groaning into her hands. Now he was going to ask her if she was okay and she was going to have to lie and tell him she was fine. She hated lying to him. They had been through a lot together, it shouldn't be so hard to tell him the truth. She was just scared that he wouldn't be able to handle it. That he would leave her.

 _So you like him. Just tell him._

She groaned into her hands again. She couldn't believe she was letting Happy get to her. And about this of all things. His job was to boss her around and her what not to do like yell at her teachers or get detention again, not give her relationship advice. She had spent the majority of the drive here convincing herself that Happy had been wrong but she didn't once stop to think...what if he was right?

Did she...like Peter? How were you supposed to know these things? Sure she liked Peter: he was one of her best friends. But did she _like_ him? Adelaide shook her head. This was too typical-teenage-drama for her.

And as far as she knew, she was anything but a typical teenager.

* * *

It was the day before Tony and Pepper returned from their trip and Adelaide had to admit that the Tower had felt really lonely without them. Yes, that included Tony and his insufferable pranks as well.

On the bright side, the science fair was tomorrow and they were almost done with their hoverboard. They had ran a few test runs in Ned's front lawn and, after the first ten tries in which Adelaide and Peter both almost died, it surprisingly worked on the eleventh try. Ned had refused to step on it after the first trial when Adelaide fell off of the hoverboard and onto his roof and rolled down until she landed in his mother's peony bush.

He called it the Deathboard for obvious reasons but she and Peter decided to name it F.L.I.P. which stood for Flying and Levitating Indigo Plate. Indigo because they had painted it indigo blue and plate because well, it really just looked like a rectangular plate. But then they all started to like the name Deathboard and so now the name was F.L.I.P.E.D., pronounced flipped. It stood for Flying and Levitating Indigo Plate Ergo Deathboard. They decided to call it the Deathboard for short.

Naming it might have actually ended up being harder than making it.

But now they had another problem. In the midst of making the hoverboard, they had completely forgotten about making the actually presentation for it. The requirements included a trifold board with their log and scientific method and a coordinated demonstration of their project _and_ a short speech about their project.

All they had so far was their log and it mainly included instances where they almost died while using the Deathboard. Not exactly something that would prompt the judges to hand them a blue ribbon. And now they were sitting at lunch, in a frenzy of trying to assign jobs so they could have their presentation done by tomorrow evening.

"Ned, you're in charge of the speech," Adelaide ordered, reading through the green paper that had the requirements listed for the projects. Somehow this little paper had gotten lost in the mess that was her backpack.

"But–"

"No buts. Pete, you figure out how to do the coordinated demonstration and I'll worry about...the trifold board." She looked up, studying their wide-eyed faces. "Any questions?"

"No ma'am," Peter said and Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you mocking me?" she asked. He blinked, clearing his throat quickly.

"No, of course not," he said, a hint of a smile on his face, "...ma'am."

She glared at him for a second before rolling her eyes and skimming over the green paper to see if they had forgotten anything. Unless one of the requirements was that the project shouldn't be able to kill you, they were good. Well, as soon as they finished their presentation they would be good.

Adelaide glanced over at their silent friend who had said nothing about what she was working on. Adelaide knew Michelle was working on something because she had seen her during Mr. Hans' Algebra class scribbling stuff down that was unrelated to the lecture.

"Hey Michelle, what are you doing your project on?" Adelaide asked. The curly-haired girl looked up from her book, giving them all the stink eye as usual.

"So you can steal my idea? Yeah, nice try," she said, narrowing her eyes at them.

"Oh, uh...we...well, I'm not–" But it was no use because she had already returned to her book again. Adelaide sighed. It looked like they would find out about it tomorrow evening during the science fair.

"Hello, Adelaide," said a voice. Adelaide found Flash standing there casually, leaning against her table. She sighed again.

"Hi Flash, what do you want?"

"What I can't come here to catch up with my old friend?" he asked innocently, taking a seat beside her. She could see Peter making a fist with his hand from the corner of her eye and she knew she had to get Flash out of here. After Ben had died, Flash had backed off of Peter for a while but now it seemed that he was back.

"Flash, you don't have any friends at this table," she said. He only laughed.

"This is why we're friends, Adelaide," he grinned, taking the apple from her plate and biting into it. She didn't protest; she hated apples anyway.

"Are you making a project with these losers?" he asked, gesturing to Ned and Peter who only rolled their eyes. "Lame. Wanna know what I made? I did an experiment on why chicks dig me."

Adelaide, Peter, and Ned all stifled their laughter.

"And did you learn that they don't?" she asked. He frowned.

"Har, har, very funny," he said and then his smug look was back again, "It was a shame I couldn't ask you to be part of my experiment."

"Yeah," she said, "A real shame."

"Well, I guess I'll see you losers tomorrow after I win," Flash said, standing up, "I'm going to be 5,000 dollars richer tomorrow and I might even take you out as a treat."

Adelaide nodded, raising her eyebrows.

"Can't wait," she smiled.

Adelaide had no idea what he had been trying to do, but when Flash reached over to her, he accidentally knocked over her bottle of her favorite pomegranate juice, making it spill all over her jacket.

"Flash!" she shouted, standing up and stepping away from the spill. Flash looked genuinely surprised at his clumsiness and Adelaide groaned, furiously trying to wipe the juice off of her jacket with a napkin. "Damnit Flash! Look what you did!"

"It was all Parker's fault," Flash said, narrowing his eyes at Peter. Peter snorted. He was actually enjoying this. Adelaide didn't get mad at Flash enough in his opinion, she should really do it more often.

"No, I don't think it is," Peter said, hiding his grin, "Ada, whose fault do you think it is?"

Adelaide glared at Flash and he squirmed under her stare.

"I'm gone," he said, holding his hands up and walking away. Adelaide groaned again as she tried to wipe the juice off of her hands but it was just sticky and the napkin was just getting stuck on her hands.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she grumbled, marching away. She couldn't believe Flash could be so stupid. Actually, she could. All of the signs had been there since the beginning.

The hallways were eerily silent as she walked through them. Everyone was either in class or at lunch so no one was really expected to be in the hallways anyway. The closest bathrooms from the cafeteria were by the gym.

So of course Graves was standing there, just in her way. He grinned at the sight of her and Adelaide scowled. She wanted to smack that stupid eye patch right off of his face. All week long, she had tried to get ahold of his phone but he never left it anywhere. It was always in his pocket or in his hand. She would have to think of a creative way to get that stupid phone of his so she could get Lukov's number and give it to Vision.

"What are you doing here without a hall pass, Rivers?" he asked. She glared up at him.

"I spilled something on my jacket," she grumbled, "I need to wash it off."

"Pomegranate juice?" he asked, tilting his head as if they were having a delightful conversation over a cup of tea at a brunch.

"Yes," she said through gritted teeth.

"One of my favorites," he smiled, "Well, you better clean it up quickly, then." He stepped to the side and out of her way. Rolling her eyes, she pushed past him and walked into the girls' bathroom to clean her jacket.

* * *

"I'm coloring, I'm coloring!" Happy said, scribbling furiously with a blue marker.

"Color faster!" Adelaide shouted, rummaging her drawers for some glitter.

"I am never having kids," Happy grumbled and Adelaide rolled her eyes. Pushing aside some clothes, she found a blue glitter pen under them and she quickly snatched it.

"I found the glitter!" she shouted, grinning like a madwoman.

"Thank God, you've been looking for that for two hours now!" he groaned, "And I've had to do all the work! Hurry up and help me color!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" she said, sitting across from him and adding designs with the glitter pen. Adelaide switched to a red inkpen to draw a couple more designs, but before she could draw anything, Happy stopped her.

"What are you doing!" he shouted. Adelaide looked at him and then down at her pen hovering over the trifold.

"Uh, the same thing we've been doing for three hours now, Happs," she said. Happy shook his head.

"No, I mean, you can't use that color," he said, "The theme is blue and black, keep up, will you? You're messing up the whole thing."

Adelaide had no idea when the 'theme' had become blue and black or even when they decided to have a theme but she decided not to argue against it and grabbed a black pen instead. Two minutes later, just as she was about to glue the title onto the board, he shouted at her again.

"Are you crazy! Don't use that glue!" he shouted.

"...Why not?" she asked, glancing down at the bottle of glue in her hand hovering over the paper.

"Because it's liquid," he said slowly as if it was obvious. Adelaide looked at him in confusion.

"Uh...okay, so I should use solid glue?" she asked. He gave her a look that roughly translated to: 'duh.' Taking a deep breath to preserve her patience, she grabbed the stick glue and used that to glue the rest of the board instead.

Adelaide thought she had been doing pretty well because Happy hadn't yelled at her in 20 minutes now but, of course, she had spoken too soon. This time, it was just before her blue pen could touch the board.

"What are you doing?" he asked, staring at her pen.

"Um, I was going to write?" she said, not even sure of herself. Happy slowly let out a breath.

"What's the theme?" he asked calmly.

"Blue and black?" Adelaide asked unsurely.

"No, that's for the scientific method section! Have you been paying attention at all?" he scolded, "You know what, let me do this, you're just messing everything up. Why don't you go order us some pizza?"

"Um...okay," she said, standing up and walking out of the room. Once she was a safe distance from the color monster that was Happy, she let out a breath. He really got riled up over projects. Shaking her head, she called the pizza place and ordered them a pizza and some cheese sticks. While she waited, she watched tv in the living room, too scared to go back to her room with the color monster.

The pizza guy came fairly quickly with their food and when she called Happy to eat, he had returned to his normal self again, thankfully. Soon, they were both tired. Unfortunately, the project wasn't exactly finished but they were too tired to continue working on it so they convinced themselves that they would finish it before tomorrow evening and went to bed.

Ever since Adelaide had had that nightmare at the compound, she hadn't been able to sleep properly so she had stayed up watching tv for as long as she could and then she headed to bed. Her room was surrounded by project-making equipment so she shoved the papers and rulers off of her covers and slid inside.

As it always did when she couldn't sleep, her mind wandered.

She thought about what Vision had told her. All they needed was to get Lukov's number and then they would be able to find him. But it was obviously not going to be as easy as she thought to get his number. How else were they going to catch him?

When Adelaide had followed Graves to his caravan, she hadn't seen a laptop or any other sort of electronic device that she could search either. The only thing that she had caught him doing was drugs and she wasn't sure if turning him into the cops would do much good. There had to be another way, something that she was missing. Rolling over to her side, she grabbed her phone off the bedside table and searched through the photos, trying to find the ones she had taken at his caravan. She had looked through them a million times now so she doubted there was anything there that would help her but she decided to look again anyway.

There were only three pictures and all of them were of the drugs that he had been using. Only, something caught her eye in the last picture. It was a sticky note stuck on the cabinet. The writing on it was a little messy but she knew that it was his handwriting. Zooming in, she tried to read it.

 _Meet Carl at 328W 45th St - 4/29 11 pm_

Adelaide read it again. And again. And again one more time. April 29...that was today and 12 pm...that was in half an hour! She read over it again. 45th street, that was about 10 minutes away, she should be able to get there in time if she left right now.

Adelaide held her breath, becoming still f0r a moment. Was this it? Was this the moment when she would get more answers? She looked at her phone again. Who the hell was Carl? Maybe he was a HYDRA agent too.

Quickly, she slipped out of her bed and, being careful to not step on her project in the dark, grabbed a jacket off of her chair and stepped into the hall. Happy was sleeping two rooms over and she knew he slept like a log so she didn't bother trying to keep quiet.

A few minutes later, she was out the door and in a cab. To her disappointment, it wasn't Bobby this time. Instead, it was an olive-skinned man with a turban wrapped around his head.

"Where would you like to go, ma'am?" he asked and she read him the address from her phone. He looked at her unsurely.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," she said, shifting in her seat. She had no idea what was at 328W 45th St. but she was determined to follow Graves and find out what he was up to this time. The driver shrugged and sped the car forward. About 10 minutes later, they were there and upon looking outside, Adelaide realized that they were at a bar. No wonder the driver had given her a strange look. She didn't look old enough to go to a bar, not even close. Sighing, she paid the driver and got out of the cab.

It looked like Graves wasn't here yet so she decided to just wait outside until he came. She had no business inside the bar; she didn't even know what Carl looked like. She pulled her hood over her head to hide her face and waited. As she went to zip up her jacket, she realized that she had accidentally grabbed the sticky one that Flash had spilled her pomegranate juice all over. She sighed. It had been a long week.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, realizing that Pepper was calling her. If Pepper found out that she was out waiting to catch her gym coach red-handed in front of a bar, then she would ground the teenager faster than she could have said 'I'm sorry.' Adelaide considered not picking up but then she would most likely call Happy and then he would find out that she was gone. But knowing Pepper, Adelaide wouldn't be surprised if she already knew the teenager had snuck out and was calling to yell her ear off.

Taking a deep breath, Adelaide picked up the phone.

"Hey Pep," she said with a shaky voice. Adelaide cleared her throat.

" _Hi!"_ said Pepper, not sounding angry at all. The teenager let out a breath of relief. " _Sorry I haven't called much, Tony keeps losing the key to our hotel room. Anyway, I just got some free time now."_

 _It was just her rotten luck that she had to be free now of all times_.

"That's...great," Adelaide said, laughing nervously. "How's Tony?"

" _He's busy singing in the shower,"_ Pepper said and Adelaide could hear some music playing in the background. " _So how was it at the compound?"_

"Uh, it was...great. Met the team, had fun," she said. At this point, everything the teenager was saying was a lie.

" _And how was your science fair project? You're done with it, right?"_

"Yeah...done," she mumbled. Adelaide said the 'almost' in her head because she knew the woman would freak out if she found out that Adelaide wasn't done with it yet.

" _I can't wait to see it, we'll be there first thing tomorrow morning."_

Adelaide was so, so screwed. She gulped, licking her lips which had suddenly gotten dry.

"Yeah...can't wait," she said weakly. Suddenly, someone honked their car loudly and Adelaide's eyes widened. Okay, now she was so, so screwed.

" _What was that?"_ Pepper asked, " _Are you not home? Adelaide?"_

"No...um, I'm actually...uh, it's just that um, the window's open! Yeah, the window," Adelaide stuttered, "I'm actually working on my homework right now...in my room. You know, on my desk, by the window."

Adelaide spotted a teenager walking towards her with a book in his hand and she walked up to him. She held up one finger and took the book from his hands, taking him by surprise. Putting her phone next to it, she began flipping the pages and making a ruffling sound. When the guy began to protest, she pressed one finger to her lips, begging him to stay quiet. Adelaide was sure the only reason he listened was because he was mildly shocked that a strange girl had just stolen his book from his hands. With a smile, she returned it to him and he hurried away after giving her a strange look.

" _Oh,"_ Pepper laughed and the teenager breathed a sigh of relief, " _You had me worried – oh wait, it must be really late for you."_

"Yeah," she said, faking a yawn, "Actually, I think I might go to sleep now. Oh and Happy's already asleep so I wouldn't bother calling him."

" _Goodnight, Adelaide."_

"Night," she said and hung up the phone, breathing out a sigh of relief. That was a very close call.

But the teenager didn't get much more time to catch her breath because she noticed Coach Graves' car pulling up by the curb. Cursing under her breath and hoping he hadn't already seen her, she ducked into the alley, making herself invisible. He was wearing an old jacket with beer stains over it and a hoodie underneath with the hood pulled over his head and a smoking cigarette in his mouth. She had been too busy watching him to realize that there was already someone in the alley with her.

She studied the thin man standing behind a dumpster deep in the alley. He was tall but lanky and he had a 5 o'clock shadow covering the lower half of his face. He was wearing a beanie over his head and ripped jean jacket with beer stains like her Coach. She assumed he was Carl. Coach Graves walked right past her and towards Carl, glancing behind himself to make sure that nobody was following him.

"Carl," Carl said, holding his hand out for Graves to shake. Graves glared at him and then blew the smoke from his cigarette in his face. Carl coughed, waving his hand in front of his face.

"You got the package?" Graves asked. Package? Did that mean he was here to buy drugs again? Adelaide held her breath, stepping closer to hear them better. On accident, she stepped on a flattened coke can, making a loud noise. She cursed at herself in her head as Graves and Carl both spun around, looking in her direction.

"Who's there?" Graves said. His voice was low and steady but threatening. Adelaide stayed silent, not daring to even breathe. Graves' good eye hovered over where she was standing for a second but then he turned away.

"Give me the package, Carl," Graves said impatiently, holding out his hand. Carl reached into his pants' pocket and pulled out a fat yellow envelope. Glancing at Carl, Graves took the envelope from his hand. He opened it up and peeked inside, pulling out a giant wad of cash, larger than what he had had when he had bought drugs from that woman at the tow pound. Adelaide's eyes almost popped out of her sockets. What the hell was he getting that much cash for?

"You must have one helluva job, huh?" Carl said, astounded by the amount of cash in the man's hand. Adelaide assumed that it had to be at least a 100 grand, if not even more.

"Don't ask too many questions if you know what's good for you, Carl," Graves snarled, puffing smoke into his face again. "Now leave."

Carl hurried out from the other end of the alley without asking anymore questions. Harrumphing to himself, Graves stuffed the fat envelope of cash into his jacket pocket and flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground. Adelaide flattened herself against the wall, trying to take up as less space as possible as Graves came closer.

She couldn't help but wonder who had given Graves that much money. And what was it for? What was he getting paid for? Was he getting that money from Lukov? She felt another headache coming with all these new questions. Tonight was supposed to be about getting answers, not more questions.

Since she was invisible, Adelaide didn't pay much attention as Graves was walking past her so it took her a moment to notice that he had stopped walking right in front of her. Her breath hitched in her throat. He wasn't facing her, his stare was at the dark alley ahead of him but something wasn't right about the look on his face. Adelaide couldn't do anything but just stare at him in a state of panic and will him to walk away. He stood still like a block of frozen ice for such a long time that Adelaide almost forgot how to breathe.

And then, everything went disarray.

Before she could blink, Graves had her pressed up against the wall by her throat. Adelaide gasped, losing control over her powers and making herself visible again. When her eyes focused on his face in front of her, she saw the twisted grin on his face.

"Pomegranate juice," he grinned, pressing her throat painfully. Adelaide wanted to groan and curse at herself for wearing this jacket but he was holding her throat too tight for her to make any noises. It was such a stupid and careless mistake. How could she be so stupid and careless? Of course he could smell the juice from her jacket, anyone could smell it from a mile away.

"What are you doing here, Rivers?" he growled, tilting his head and running his tongue over his lower lip. His breath reeked of cigarettes and beer. "Aren't you out too late for a school night?"

How did he manage to sound so mocking? Adelaide gritted her teeth, making a fist as she tried to wriggle out of his grip. Her struggle widened his grin and she wanted nothing more than to punch it right off of his face.

"You've gotten so pathetic, it's amusing," he said, clearly enjoying himself. "You're weak, Rivers."

Adelaide continued to struggle, feeling herself growing angrier. Who was he to tell her that she was weak and pathetic?

"You didn't use to be like this," he whispered, leaning closer.

Adelaide was terrified of him, of everything he was saying. He wasn't making any sense but she had a sinking feeling in her chest that he was right. Her breath became more labored as she continued to struggle under his grip.

She wanted answers, and now she was getting them, however unclear they might be.

"I used to be the only one who stood a chance against you," he taunted, the anger evident in his voice, "And now look at yourself, you're wasting your time away as a little schoolgirl. Like I said, pathetic."

He loosened the grip and Adelaide gasped, taking a deep breath and coughing. She was raging with fury and her body was alight with a familiar tingle coursing through her veins. She was barely in control of herself, but his words wouldn't stop repeating themselves in her mind.

 _Pathetic._

 _Weak._

 _Schoolgirl._

Something he said had ignited this anger within her and Adelaide had no idea where it was coming from. None of his words made any sense but she couldn't help but feel angry. Why was she so furious?

"Do it, Rivers," he whispered cooly, and Adelaide knew exactly what he was talking about. He pressed a cold blade into her hand. "Do it, I know you're angry. Fight me, be who you really are."

 _Be who you really are_.

"See this?" he asked, pointing to his eyepatch and tightening his grip on her throat again, "You gave it to me. This is what you are, Rivers."

She gripped the knife in her hand, feeling angrier. This wasn't who she was. She wasn't this angry. She wasn't pathetic and weak. He was wrong. She was Adelaide, Adie, Ada. Her breathing slowed as she calmed down. Her vision seemed to clear as the anger left her.

Graves laughed, releasing her neck and stepping back. His laughter was a terrifying sound. She bent over, putting her hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath.

"I knew it. They made you too soft," he spat angrily. He leaned down, pushing her chin up and forcing her to look at him. She didn't have the energy to resist.

"But don't worry, you'll get to be yourself soon," he whispered venomously.

He walked away, leaving Adelaide behind in the dark alley, terrified of herself.

* * *

 **A/N: Dun dun dun...**


	47. Chapter 44

**A/N: AHHHHHHHHH I WATCHED FAR FROM HOME AND OH MY GODDDDDDD. IT'S SO AMAZING AHHHHHHHHH. TOM HOLLAND IS SO FREAKING HOTT I CAN'T I CAN'T. AND THE MOVIE WAS SO ASRDFRFLDSS. GO WATCH IT, GO WATCH IT!**

 **Okay, I'm done. But seriously, the movie was so incredible and I literally got sooo many ideas from it for this fanfic, you don't even understand. Tiny spoiler for this fanfic, let's just say MJ and Peter are NOT endgame (hehe see what I did there?)**

 **Okay, okay, I'm done I swear. As you can see, I updated exactly one week later so, for now, Wednesdays will be my upload days but it might change to the weekend. But for now it's Wednesdays.**

 **So a lott happened last chapter from nightmares to deathboards to crazy gym coaches. You guys got to see a littleee bit about Adelaide's past and that chapter officially marks the beginning of Civil War. Let me just say, by the end of Civil War, you will know everything about Adie. I mean _everything_. And you may change your mind about her after...*evil laughter***

 _ **Xoxo122124: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this story! :)**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: Ah, I seriously love reading your reviews and I look forward to them every time haha. As per your wish, now Adie has a new nickname: Blue, coined by Nat of course. And I can't really tell you which side Adie's gonna be on during Civil War, but I will say that it's gonna be complicated...**_

 _ **Oriande Moonshadow: I honestly love Happy for freaking out over something as trivial as color schemes haha. Sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger, but the secrets will be revealed veryy soon...**_

 **Thank you to:** **Xoxo122124,** **Thebookworm33,** **Oriande Moonshadow, SpiderFlash 1273, and athousandyears23 for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZBALLS**

* * *

 _"Someone kicked her puppy, Peter._

 _That's really sad."_

* * *

"You look like hell," Happy observed, walking into the kitchen. Adelaide nodded, agreeing with him. She was sitting with a cup of coffee and watching the tv in the living room from the island in the kitchen.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Adelaide finished her fourth cup of coffee since this morning and slid off the stool for a refill. Sleep was a foreign word.

"You were out cold," she said, smiling at him but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Her voice was small and sounded tired. Happy didn't take to importance how the teenager avoided his question and popped a bagel in the toaster.

"Your little project thing tired me out," he said, "I'm telling you, I am never having kids."

"Let me know how that works for you," she said, getting back up on her stool, "What time are they coming?"

Happy checked his watch. "In about half an hour," he answered, grabbing his bagel out of the toaster and he sitting down beside the teenager with his breakfast.

"I should warn you," he said with his mouth full of bagel, "Pepper's going to flip when she sees it's not done."

"Tell me something I don't know," Adelaide groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"I'm going to pick them up," he said, standing up again and dusting his hands to get the crumbs off. He grabbed his phone and slid it into his pocket. "You coming?"

"I'm going to work on the project," she sighed, sipping her coffee. It burned her throat on its way down. "I have school in an hour anyway."

"Your choice, kiddo, but you're just delaying the inevitable," he said, ruffling her hair as he walked past her. Adelaide didn't bother trying to fix it as she stared at the tv with an empty look on her face. She knew he was only talking about Pepper seeing her unfinished project but the teenager couldn't help but apply it to something else. Finishing her cup of coffee, she reached for another refill. It had taken five cups for the teenager to finally feel the buzz in veins and she headed to her room. Since she got home last night, she had hit the gym downstairs to shake off her anger and anxiety. Her knuckles were still slightly sore and bruised from the punching bag.

 _You've gotten so pathetic...You didn't use to be like this..._

Sighing, she walked into her bathroom. She stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower, biting back a gasp when the scalding water hit her skin. It burned but at least then she could feel something.

 _I used to be the only one who stood a chance against you..._

Adelaide grabbed the shampoo but it fell, hitting her foot. She bit her lip and picked it up, trying to focus on washing her hair instead of the throbbing pain in her foot.

 _Be who you really are..._

When she was finished, she turned the shower off, wrapping a soft towel around herself and stepping out. She stopped in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection.

 _They made you too soft..._

Her eyes had sunken into their sockets, her face looking almost gray. Her usually bright blue eyes were unusually dull and the veins in her arms seemed to bulge out.

 _You'll get to be yourself soon..._

Adelaide lost track of how long she stood there staring at herself in the mirror. She didn't recognize herself anymore. She blinked, terrified of her own reflection. The girl in the mirror looked dead inside. Who was she?

Blinking herself out of it, Adelaide pulled on her clothes — ripped jeans and a white shirt with a black leather jacket — and busied herself with her project. Her mind to wandered to a certain blade that she had hidden in her dresser but she didn't pay it any attention. Nothing good could come from thinking. Soon, Tony and Pepper announced their arrival.

"Adelaide?" Pepper shouted.

"In here!" she shouted back. She was nowhere near finished with her project board and Pepper was going to kill her for sure. There was still lots left to cut and glue and write. She was so screwed.

"Hey," Pepper smiled as she came to stand by the door. Her eyes traveled from the teenager down to the mess spread across the floor that was the project. "What's this? Are you making another trifold for your project?"

"Um...yes and no?" Adelaide winced, "But not yes, so...no."

The teenager watched as the woman's face went from smiling to frowning to angry.

"Are you kidding me? You didn't finish!" she said. Tony appeared beside Pepper, peering into the room curiously.

"Look at this, she didn't finish her project," Pepper complained, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm telling you, the Stark gene thing is real," he said, stepping inside, "I did this all the time when I was in school. Nice work, kid."

Pepper gave the billionaire a look and walked into the room, crouching down beside the project.

"Wait a minute – are you okay?" Pepper suddenly asked, making Adelaide look up. She scrunched her nose in confusion.

"Why?"

"You look..."

"Like you got run over by a truck," Tony finished, sitting down on the floor beside Pepper. Adelaide bit her lip, glancing between the two.

"Did you get sick? Why didn't you tell me you were sick? Did you take your temperature? God, did you even take any medicine?" Pepper rambled, reaching over to feel the teenager's forehead. Adelaide realized that she must look worse than she thought.

"I-I'm fine," she said, her voice raspy. Pepper didn't look convinced so Adelaide figured she should change the subject before the woman stuck her in a bed with a thermometer in her mouth.

"You do the gluing," Adelaide told Pepper, and then turned to the billionaire, "And you cut. Oh and make sure you don't write anything with a blue pen in the scientific method section...or was it red? Point is, Happy will go crazy."

"Happy? Happy Hogan?" Tony asked. The teenager shrugged.

"Hurry, because we only have a half an hour," she said and they all began working on the project as fast as they could.

In the middle of it, Adelaide looked up, glancing at the two adults sitting in front of her and a weird sort of feeling settled in her chest. She didn't deserve them. They took her in when they had no idea who she was and they raised her like her parents. She probably would be on the streets without them, maybe even dead by now.

"Thank you," she mumbled quietly. They both stopped, looking up at the teenager.

"Are you talking about your souvenir because we definitely didn't forget to bring you one," Tony said and Adelaide managed a laugh.

She was going to be fine, she realized.

* * *

"Ned, did you finish the coordinated demonstration?" Adelaide asked as they all walked into school together. Ned looked at her with wide eyes.

"I thought you said I had to do the speech, I didn't make a coordinated demonstration!" he said, panicking.

"Oh, right," she said, shaking her head, "Sorry." She needed to get it together before the science fair tonight or all their hard work would be for nothing.

"We're totally gonna win this thing," Peter said, rubbing his hands together. He and Ned high-fived in agreement. Adelaide managed to finish the board, albeit, it was slightly sloppy towards the end. She was just glad Happy hadn't seen it. He had asked her to show him on the whole ride to the school but she refused.

"Ada?" Peter said, waving his hand in front of her face. She blinked, turning to look at him. She hadn't realized they had stopped walking and she was standing a few steps ahead of them. She half-turned to face them.

"Hm?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"I asked if you finished the trifold...are you feeling okay? You look..."

"Like someone kicked your puppy," Ned said. Peter gave him a strange look.

"She'd be mad if someone kicked her puppy, Ned," he said. Ned shrugged.

"She would be sad," he argued, "Someone kicked her puppy, Peter. That's really sad."

"Nobody kicked my puppy — I...I'm fine," she sighed, rubbing her face, "I'm just a little tired."

"Well don't fall asleep in Mr. Hans' class," Ned warned as they started walking again, "You do remember what happened last time, right?"

"Like I could forget," she said, cringing at the memory, "he made me stand in front of the class for the rest of the period." That had been highly embarrassing.

"And you fell asleep standing up," Ned laughed and she rolled her eyes. Sometimes it was hard to sleep, other times...not so much. For some reason, she always found it easy to fall asleep to Mr. Hans' boring lectures. Adelaide didn't think she had the energy to fight with Mr. Hans today so she hoped she didn't fall asleep.

 _"All students with a trifold board for the Science Fair, please report to the gym to allow the projects to be set up for this evening."_

Adelaide swallowed. The last place she wanted to go was the gym. She didn't think she could handle seeing _his_ face again or the eyepatch that apparently she had given him. As they approached the double doors, she began to quietly panic.

"You guys go, I have to use the restroom," she said, handing the trifold board to Peter. She didn't even stop to her their reply and bolted away from the gym, towards the girls' bathroom. Nobody was inside thankfully and she stood in front of the sink, trying to catch her breath without much success.

She looked up, catching her reflection in the mirror. There was no way she would be able to avoid him forever. What was she going to do when she saw him again? Demand answers? Threaten him with the knife that he gave her? And even if he did answer her questions, how sure was she that she wanted to hear the truth? Was she ready? Would she ever be?

She splashed cold water on her face, trying to calm herself down. There was no use in trying to answer questions she couldn't. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide in this bathroom for the rest of the school year and she would have to face him eventually.

She had to go back to the gym. She wasn't going to let him control her life. He had already made her worry herself sick, she wasn't going to let him ruin her project. Besides, it wasn't just her project; it was Ned's and Peter's too and she needed to be there with them. Wiping her face, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Just get through today, she told herself as she walked towards the gym. His words began echoing in her mind again against her will. Even after she had spent all night thinking about it, nothing he said had made any sense to her. How much longer would she be able to make it without answers? She had spent a whole year here trying to get answers and now that she was finally getting them, she was too scared to hear them.

Adelaide realized how ridiculous that sounded. Graves had answers. He knew about her past. Maybe he even knew who killed her parents. All she had to do was face him. Maybe he could answer her questions. The question was, did she really want to know the truth?

She was standing in front of the gym now, with her hand over the door. With a deep breath to calm her nerves, she pushed the door open and walked inside. The gym had transformed into a project display room. The teachers had set up tables in a semi circle formation to display the projects and there was a big banner hanging from the ceiling that read _Midtown High Science Fair_. Adelaide spotted Ned and Peter standing in line with their backs to her, relatively close to the front.

She couldn't see Graves anywhere, she realized. Maybe he was in his office. She contemplated her choices. Either she could force him to give her answers and hope that she could live with it, or she could pretend that last night never happened and continue to live in oblivion. She was already halfway to his office behind the gym before she realized that her subconscious had already made the decision for her.

The air in her lungs grew thinner as she approached his office. Was this it? Was she finally going to get her answers? Was she going to figure out why there were 13 years of her life that she couldn't remember?

From afar, she could tell that the lights were off but she knocked nonetheless. There was no going back now. Adelaide waited impatiently but no one answered. She tried the doorknob, knowing that it was probably locked because he rarely left his office unlocked but the door pushed open to her surprise. Adelaide stepped inside, looking around the small, dark office.

He wasn't there.

* * *

 **A/N: What's that I hear? Oh, you don't like cliffhangers? Well, that's too bad ;)**

 _ **Question: Who do you think will win the Science Fair?**_


	48. Chapter 45

**A/N: HEYY GUYS!**

 **So I got my SAT scores today and let's just say I'm glad I did better on the ACT instead.**

 **ANYway, just a quick heads up, this chapter has a littleeeeee spoiler for Far From Home. I mean, like really, _really_ small spoiler. As in it's not even a spoiler, but maybe it would help you put two and two together when you watch the movie. But it's only like one line so I put a spoiler warning before and after it and you can just skip that part, and won't really make a difference to the rest of the chapter. **

**Also, this chapter is almost 8,000 words long, can I please have a round of applause for having two long chapters in one month AND getting them out on time? *bows* Why, thank you, thank you.**

 **Last thing, you're going to love this chapter. Like, A LOT.**

 _ **Thebookworm33: When the story started, Adie was starting in the middle of 8th grade and she was 13. The end of that year was Age of Ultron. Now she's 14 and a freshman in high school. To answer your question, my favorite friendship is Tony and Happy as well. They've just been through a lot of crap for each other *starts to tear up*. And Civil War is coming realllyyyy close so you'll get to see which side she's on soon..;) Anyway, thank you leaving a review and good luck on re-reading!**_

 _ **Oriande Moonshadow: You'll find out who wins in this chapter...*evil grin***_

 ** _Thank you to: Shiranai Atsune, RAD092515, Blue457, FigurativelyDying, bwlchck, Oriande Moonshadow, and Thebookworm33_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! Just in case you haven't gotten the memo, I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE FOLLOW/FAVORITE OR LEAVE ME A REVIEW SO THANK YOU GUYS!**

* * *

 _"Stop looking."_

* * *

" _Officials say he's helped the NYPD catch over a hundred robbers in the past three months alone. He calls himself, and I quote, 'a friendly, neighborhood, Spider-Man.' What made this hero decide to help his neighborhood, no one knows. But one thing's for sure, he's nice to have around. In other news…"_

Spider-Man was a peculiar hero in Adelaide's opinion. She found it strange that he only 'worked out of the good of his heart.' It was the 21st century. Nobody did anything unless there was something in it for them. Maybe the government was secretly paying him or maybe he worked with the NYPD undercover. No other explanation made sense to her. Whoever he was, she thought he was...strange.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" Pepper asked, coming to stand behind the couch the teenager was sitting on. Adelaide looked down at what she was wearing. It was the same thing she had put on this morning when she got dressed for school: jeans, a shirt, and a leather jacket.

"...I am dressed," Adelaide answered.

"I wasn't aware that we were going to a motorcycle street race," the woman said, narrowing her eyes at the teenager, "Get dressed. No leather. No black."

"Fine," Adelaide groaned, dragging herself off the couch to her room. She wasn't sure she had anything that wasn't leather or black. Nevertheless, she rummaged through her closet and walked out a few minutes later wearing a navy blue dress with white collars.

The last time she had worn a dress, it had been at the party Tony had thrown to celebrate the capture of Loki's scepter from the HYDRA base. That was one party that hadn't ended well. Admittedly, being in a dress had made it a lot harder to fight the ultron bots and Adelaide contemplated going back to change into jeans in case something decided to go wrong at the science fair. But before she could, Pepper stopped her.

"See, you do own clothes that aren't leather or black," she smiled. The teenager frowned.

"I hate wearing dresses," she grumbled.

"Don't worry, you'll be out of it soon," the woman reassured her, patting her shoulder. "Now come on, or we will be late."

"Relax honey," Tony said, adjusting his suit, "It doesn't start until 7:30 and its only 7."

"It's literally an hour away, _how_ can you say that," Pepper deadpanned. They began bickering about the billionaire's lack of respect for time and Pepper's need to be everywhere ten minutes early and how many episodes of _Downton Abbey_ Happy had missed because of that.

Adelaide tuned them out to avoid the headache. She had formulated a plan to not raise suspicion. Tony and Pepper would drive themselves to the school while Happy drove Adelaide. That way, no one would see her getting out of the car with them.

"Guys," Adelaide said but neither of the two paid any attention to her. They were bickering like little kids. Adelaide heard a _ding!_ from the elevator and she turned around to find Happy walking into the penthouse.

"No luck?" Happy asked, walking up to her.

"None," she sighed. Adelaide faced them again, realizing it was probably going to be 7:30 soon if they didn't leave now. Taking a deep breath, she pulled a familiar tingle to the tips of her fingers and made Tony and Pepper both invisible.

The bickering stopped and a moment later she heard a sigh.

"Adelaide," Pepper sighed. She made the woman visible again with a wave of her hand and they both patiently waited for Tony to surrender. He didn't say anything for a while so Adelaide made him visible again but he wasn't standing where she had last seen him.

"What are you still doing there, you're going to make me late."

They all turned around to find the billionaire standing in the elevator with a prominent smirk on his face and they all rolled their eyes, following him to the elevator.

"Gosh, you take forever," he grinned as the teenager walked into the elevator. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him threateningly.

"You remember my rules, right?" she asked him as the elevator went down.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" the billionaire asked and Adelaide smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, honey, did you schedule our flight for next week?" Tony asked, turning to Pepper standing on the other side of him. The teenager raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Atlantis," Tony answered.

"MIT," Pepper said, ignoring him, "Stark industries is giving a keynote speech about the new…"

"Barf," Tony said and everyone in the elevator gave him a strange look. "Barf, it's Barf – we talked about this. Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing – I really need to fix that acronym."

The elevator opened and they all walked out into the lobby. Happy went ahead to get the car while they waited behind.

"What do they do?" Adelaide asked the billionaire.

"The BARF relies on an implant installed on a pair of glasses that connects with the user's hippocampus, allowing it to find a certain traumatic memory and alter it before projecting that memory onto an external infrastructure," Tony recited. Adelaide raised a judgemental eyebrow.

"You made smart glasses and decided to name them Barf?" she asked.

"I didn't decide anything," Tony argued, "the name acronym just...happened. Anyway, you should come with us, it's only a one day trip. Besides, you helped me design them."

"I did?" Adelaide asked. She barely knew what half of the equipment in Tony's lab did, how did she help him make something as complicated as...well, BARF.

"A few months ago, I asked you to make illusions for me?"

Adelaide tried to remember. It was that day she was trying to look at the video of her father before she went to Peter's and they...kissed.

"Yeah," she breathed before she started stirring up memories that she didn't want to remember, "I remember. So you made them?"

 **[SPOILER STARTS]**

"Sure," the billionaire shrugged, "Okay fine, I didn't but one of my employees did. Quincy Baker...something like that."

 **[SPOILER ENDS]**

"Okay," she shrugged, "I'll come." It was probably a good idea to leave New York for a while, considering how suffocating it had been the past few days. A little trip could be good for her.

Adelaide felt her phone buzz in her purse (which Pepper had forced her to take even though Adelaide thought it looked ridiculous) but before she could see who it was, she heard Happy honking outside and they all left the Tower together, riding away in their own separate cars.

As they drove towards the science fair, Adelaide couldn't help but feel like something was going to go wrong tonight...

* * *

"I can't believe I am going to miss your science fair," May sniffled.

"It's not like you got sick on purpose," Peter smiled, tucking her into her bed, "Are you sure that you want me to go? I can stay here with you."

"No, no, you go. You've worked hard on your project and Adelaide and Ned need you there with them. I'll be fine here watching The Bachelor," May smiled and then sneezed into a tissue. Peter winced. He really didn't want to leave May here by herself like this but she had a point. They had worked on the Deathboard for weeks now and Ned and Ada would be pissed if he didn't show up.

"Extra box of tissues and your phone are right here. There's still some chicken soup in the fridge if you get hungry. Oh and cough drops are in this drawer. And drink lots of water okay? And if you need anything, just call me," Peter rambled.

"I'm going to be fine, Peter," she smiled. Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair. He hated to leave her right now.

"I'll be back as soon as the fair ends," he said, dropping a quick kiss on her forehead. He was wearing khakis and a black button-up shirt which he had ironed – something he never did. But tonight was important and everyone was going to be dressed up.

"Bring me home a trophy," May smiled. Peter returned her smile and gently closed the door. He hated to admit it, especially since May had gotten sick, but he was really excited about tonight. He was actually going to get to meet Mr. Stark! Peter hadn't let himself get too excited because, up until now, he was sure that he had been dreaming. But now it was really happening, he was really going to get to meet Mr. Stark.

Grabbing his phone and the bag with the hoverboard, he left the apartment and locked it behind him. He checked his watch. It was about 7:15 and the science fair was going to start in 15 minutes. Peter hurried downstairs to hail a cab. The last thing he wanted was to be late.

Peter froze in his tracks as the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up with a familiar tingle.

Oh no...Cursing his bad luck, he quickly ran upstairs to grab his suit. He thought that he wouldn't need it tonight, but he should have known better.

"Come on," he grumbled to himself, shoving the key into the lock of the apartment. He pushed the door open and hurried inside to get his suit.

"Peter? Is that you?" May shouted from her room.

"Yeah I...uh left my phone!" he shouted back, grabbing his suit.

"Oh, okay!" she replied and Peter hoped that she wouldn't come out of her room as he pulled his suit on.

"Bye May!" he shouted. He didn't wait to hear her reply as he quickly locked the door. His science fair clothes were stuffed with the hoverboard in the backpack around his shoulders and he was now wearing his suit as he swung out from the top floor of the apartment complex, letting his sense lead him to the scene of the crime.

As he swung towards the setting sun, he tried to call Ada to let her know that he would be late but she didn't answer. He quickly texted her instead, hoping that she would see it.

* * *

Happy dropped Adelaide off at the front doors of the school and then circled back to find a parking space. Adelaide walked inside, hearing her heels click with each step. She held back a groan. She hated wearing heels; she could never balance in them and they always gave her away.

The hallways were dark and quiet with the exception of a couple of parents coaching their kids on their presentation.

 _He_ was nowhere to be seen either. Adelaide had looked for Graves all day but she concluded that he just hadn't come to school today. She hoped that he would be here tonight so she could confront him but her chances were slim. She just hoped that she would see him again soon; she didn't know how much longer she could go with this anxious energy in her stomach.

Now that she was closer to the gym, she could hear the faint music and chatter. She wondered if Tony and Pepper were already here as she pushed open the doors. By the looks of it, the fair was just now getting started. Adelaide instinctively tugged her dress down, feeling strange to be in a dress at school. At school, she was usually wearing something leather and black, not navy blue and fancy.

"Adelaide!"

She saw Ned waving at her from the table their board was set up at and she made her way over to him. Adelaide wondered why Peter wasn't here yet.

"Hey," she smiled, "you look nice."

"Thanks," Ned said. He was wearing khakis and a red shirt with small palm trees on it. "You too."

"They haven't started yet, have they?" she asked, glancing around.

"No, they're waiting for Mr. Stark to get here," he said. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"We'll be here all night if we waited for him," she said, "He took forever to even leave the house tonight. And why isn't Peter here yet?"

"He called me a few minutes ago and told me that he might be a little late," Ned said, "May got sick."

"Oh," she said, checking her phone, "I have a missed call from him and he texted me that he would be late too. I hope May is okay."

"Me too," Ned said, "And I hope Peter gets here on time."

"He better, or we won't have a hoverboard," Adelaide sighed, putting her phone back in her purse. She anxiously glanced at the door, hoping he would walk in at that moment.

" _Торопись, пожалуйста_ ," she whispered under her breath. _(Hurry, please.)_

But the door didn't open.

* * *

Peter peered over the edge of the rooftop, into the bank across the street.

The lights were off and it was starting to get darker outside, but he could make out the figure of three different men, each of them armed with a gun.

He swung down from the rooftop and landed swiftly beside the bank building.

"Give us the money!" one of the men shouted. Peter carefully peeked inside through one of the windows. There were three armed men huddling around a short, bald man who Peter assumed worked at this bank and an old woman who Peter assumed must have been a customer with seriously bad timing. They both looked terrified to have a gun pointed at their heads.

"Please let me go!" the bald man begged, on the verge of tears, "I have a family!"

"Then give us the money, and we will spare your ass," another thief said, tilting his head and clicking his gun. He had a slight hispanic accent.

"P-Please, I'll lose my job!" the man begged. The old woman began crying quietly.

The tallest thief moved his arm and shot the wall behind the banker and the woman, making them jump up in fright.

"Give us the damn money!" he roared.

"Okay! Okay, I-I'll do it!" the banker said, putting his hands up. Slowly, he walked out from behind the desk with the old woman following closely behind and into a hall which Peter assumed led to the vaults. Two of the three men followed them down the hall, each holding a gun to their heads. The third stayed in the lobby to keep watch. The teenager checked his watch, silently cursing. The fair must have already started.

With a sigh, he walked into the bank when the man had his back turned to him.

"Is this a bad time?" Peter asked, "I can always come back later…"

In a second, the thief turned around, aiming his gun at Peter.

"Spider-Man?" the thief asked, sounding surprised that this weird superhero wasn't just something that media had cooked up. The thief quickly pulled himself together and shot at the strange superhero standing in front of him. Luckily, Peter was already hanging from the ceiling before the bullet came even close to hitting him.

"Woah," he breathed, "Not friendly service! You know, I can give you a bad review on Yelp!"

The thief responded by shooting him again. Peter swung out of the way just in time and quietly landed behind the desk with the robber's back to him.

"Over here!" Peter shouted and shot out a web, slinging the gun out of the robber's hand before he could shoot him again.

"That's enough for today," Peter smiled. The thief narrowed his eyes through the eye holes in his black mask and pulled out another gun without breaking eye contact. Peter rolled his eyes under his own mask. People never seemed to grasp the concept of the web.

"I'll take that, please," Peter said, holding his arm out to shoot a web. Instead of a web, he heard an infamous _click_ and he realized that he had forgotten to refill his web shooters and now they were empty.

And then he heard another infamous _click_ followed by a cold metal being pressed to his head.

"Put your hands up," a low voice said in his ear. Peter gulped.

Uh oh…

* * *

"Where is he?" Adelaide groaned.

The fair had already started and the judges were coming to their table next. If Peter didn't come in the next five minutes then they weren't going to have a hoverboard to present.

"Have you tried calling him?" Ned asked.

"Only a million times," she grumbled, glancing at the door again, "But he won't pick up." Even Tony and Pepper were here already. They had texted her as soon as they arrived and now they were waiting in the office for the judges to finish seeing everyone's project so they could come out when they announced the winner and hand them the prize.

Two places before them, Michelle had done her project on a cheap and green water filtration system for remote areas and third world countries that didn't have clean drinking water. All three judges at her table seemed impressed by her project.

"We're next," Ned said, his eyes wide as he watched the judges move from Michelle's presentation to Flash's. Ned cringed. He couldn't believe he had done an experiment on 'why chicks dig me.' He thought he saw the judges making the same expressions as they listened to Flash's presentation.

"At least Flash isn't competition," Ned mumbled to himself.

"What are we going to do, Ned?" Adelaide whispered, quietly panicking.

"I don't know…" Ned whispered and they both looked at each other with worried eyes.

* * *

"Put down the gun," the man said slowly, pressing his own gun harder into his temple. Peter dropped the gun and it fell to the tiled floor. The man behind him kicked it to his partner who picked it up and aimed it at Peter as well.

Right now was a terrible time to run out of webbing.

"Now you're going to come down here with us and help us load the cash into our van," the man said, pushing Peter ahead. He needed to find a way out of this situation but he had never fought without his webbing.

Peter let them lead him into the vault where the banker and the old woman from earlier were loading money into the large black duffel bags. They gave the teenager in the red and blue spandex suit a strange look as the robbers pushed him in.

"Don't take too long," the thief behind him growled into his ear and then shoved him onto the floor to load the cash. As the three of them quietly and quickly loaded the cash, the two robbers behind him were discussing something quietly but Peter was just barely able to hear them.

"Once they finish, you start the van and I'll put a bullet in these three."

Peter's eyes widened under his mask. They were going to kill them. He looked up but the banker and old woman hadn't seemed to hear the conversation. He needed to do something and quick. If he fought them right now, there was a chance that one of them might accidentally shoot the banker or the old woman. He decided he would have to wait until one of them went into the van.

Soon, they were almost finished loading the cash into the van and the tallest thief went to the van through the back entrance.

"When I say go, you run out of the vault, okay?" Peter whispered to the banker and the old woman. They both looked at him with terrified expressions but stayed silent out of fear. Peter stood up, stretching his arms.

"Man, I'm really tired," he yawned, "Do you guys have like an energy drink or something?"

"Load the van, kid," the shorter thief said without looking at him.

"No, I don't think I will," Peter said and ducked under, kicking the robber's legs out from under him. He fell over and Peter snatched his gun as the other thief ran towards him. Peter pointed the gun at him threateningly – he wasn't going to shoot, of course, but the thief man didn't need to know that.

"Put your hands up!" Peter said.

"B-But...you're...uh…holding it backwards," the thief said and Peter glanced down at his hands, realizing that he was right. He quickly flipped the gun around so it was pointing the right way.

"Now put your hands up!" he shouted again and the thief did. The shorter thief who was still laying on the ground groaned and stirred, sitting up. Peter glanced at the banker and the old woman who were watching in shock as Spider-Man saved their lives.

"Go! Go! Go!" Peter shouted and they both broke into a run, running out of the open vault.

"Call the cops!" Peter shouted after them. The taller thief took advantage of Peter's distracted state and knocked the gun out of his hand, causing it slide over to the other side of the vault. Just barely, Peter deflected a fist coming towards his face by tumbling away. Now both thieves were up and one of them still had a gun. He shot it at Peter but he jumped up, attaching himself to the ceiling.

Dodging bullets, he crawled over to the entrance of the vault where his spidey sense told him the tallest thief was about to enter. As soon as he walked through, Peter jumped on his shoulders, knocking his head against one of the metal drawers.

"One down, two to go," he said to himself.

The taller thief was shooting at him again and Peter groaned as he dodged the bullets. This would have gone a lot faster if he had his webbing. Barely any noise came into the vault but Peter could hear the faint sound of police sirens coming from outside.

Holding himself up on the ceiling with his hands, he swung his feet, hitting the thief with the gun in the face and knocking him out.

"That looks like it hurt," Peter winced. He glanced over to see the last thief trying to make a run for it. He swung himself over and landed right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Sorry about this," Peter said and punched him in the face.

* * *

"Hello?" Adelaide said.

" _Oh, hi Adelaide,"_ May said, following up with a sneeze, " _How's the science fair going? Sorry I couldn't make it."_

"Peter told me you fell sick," Adelaide said, "Is he there with you? I need to talk to him but he won't pick up his phone."

" _But Peter left almost an hour ago,"_ May said, starting to sound worried, " _Is he not there with you guys?"_

"He did?" Adelaide asked, surprised. If he left an hour ago, why wasn't he here yet? Where the hell was he?

"Oh, look, there he is! Bye, May!" she lied, faking a laugh and hanging up before she could ask to speak with him. The last thing she needed was for May to start worrying. Especially right now when she was sick and by herself. Sighing, Adelaide slid her phone into her purse, glancing at the doors again.

"Any luck?" Ned asked and Adelaide shook her head. They were so screwed. Without the hoverboard, they had no presentation and all of their hard work would have been for nothing.

"Are you ready?" someone said and Adelaide realized the judges were already at their table. There were three judges, two men and one woman and they were all smiling at her expectantly. She glanced at Ned and they both shared a worried look.

"Um, y-yes, of course," Adelaide stuttered, "Ned?"

"R-Right, the speech," he started, fishing index cards out of his pocket, "Um, well, the name of our project is F.L.I.P.E.D., which stands for Flying and Levitating Indigo Plate Ergo Deathboard. The Deathboard is a revolutionary piece of vehicular equipment that can hover or fly over any surface with the use of two propellers. It is environmentally friendly and runs on a rechargeable lithium polymer battery…"

Adelaide's heart beat at twice its usual speed as Ned gave his speech. She knew what was coming next, but Peter still wasn't here yet. She had already tried to call him a million times now but he wasn't answering his phone. And May said she didn't know where he was, even though he had left over an hour ago.

"Fascinating," the woman said, her eyes sparkling with amazement once Ned was finished. In fact, all three judges looked impressed.

"I agree," the man said, "Wonderful job."

"Why don't we see a coordinated demonstration of this marvelous hoverboard?" the other man asked with a smile. Adelaide gave Ned a panicked look. Licking her dry lips, she took a shaky breath in.

"Actually," she started, her nerves in a bundle, "we don't have the hoverboard with us at the moment. It's a funny story really –"

"Are you saying that you don't have your project?" the woman asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, not exactly –"

"OurfriendPeterhastheprojectandhehasn'tshownupyet," Ned rambled and then glanced at Adelaide. This was it. This was all over their hard work going down the drain.

"I am sorry to say this, but, without a project we have no choice but to...disqualify you," the woman said.

Adelaide saw the image of their project winning shattering. All of that work...all of their efforts...all gone. All for nothing.

And then she saw herself breaking Peter's nose. Dead. He was dead. He was a very dead, dead man walking.

* * *

"Please welcome Tony Stark and Pepper Potts!" the principal announced on the stage and everyone in the room erupted into cheers as Tony and Pepper walked onto the stage. They were both smiling at the audience but something wasn't right about it. They looked distracted.

"Good evening!" Pepper smiled, "Everyone's projects here tonight look amazing! Tony and I are so glad to be here! As you know, there is a 5,000 dollar prize to the first place winner so I wish good luck to all of you as the judges announce our winner tonight!"

"Second place winner gets to clean my car for me," Tony joked and everyone laughed. Pepper handed the microphone to one of the judges – the woman – and everyone in the room fell into an anxious silence as they waited for her to announce the winner.

Ned and Adelaide were both standing by their table, sulking. They had gotten disqualified because of Peter and now there was no chance that they were going to win any prizes tonight. Adelaide had tried calling him again, but he still didn't pick up. What made her even angrier was that she found herself worrying about him. Was he okay? What if he was passed out by a dumpster somewhere?

"The third place prize goes to...George Reed!" the judge announced and everyone cheered as George walked up the steps to claim his certificate. Adelaide's gaze fell on Tony and Pepper standing with the other two judges and the principal. What was going on with them? Why did they look so...angry?

"The second place winner is...Liz Allen!"

Even Ned cheered loudly for Liz with everyone else as she claimed her prize despite his depressing night. Adelaide only half-heartedly clapped for her.

"And finally, our first place winner is…"

Suddenly, Adelaide saw a glimpse of a man she had been looking for all day though the windows in the doors of the gym. Her breath hitched.

Graves.

He was here.

"...Michelle Jones!"

"I'll be right back," she told Ned before taking off after Graves. He couldn't have gone far, he was just here in this hallway. Adelaide winced with every step as her heels gave her away. She quickly took them off, leaving them under a bulletin board and deciding that she would pick them up later. She couldn't let him get away, not now.

Barefoot, she silently padded through the dark hallway, looking for another glimpse. Just when she thought that maybe she had imagined him, she turned the corner, and saw him hurrying down the hall, towards the library.

"Hey! Wait!" she shouted out after him but he didn't stop. Rather, he quickened his pace and ducked into the library. Cursing at herself for being slow, she hurried into the library where it seemed to be even darker than the hallway.

"Hello?" she called, looking around. She had the urge to make herself invisible but she held back. He wouldn't hurt her. If he wanted to, he would have done it weeks ago; she had given him plenty of chances, being as naive as she was.

 _You've gotten so pathetic...You didn't use to be like this..._

"Graves?" she said, feeling strange for not calling him coach. But after what she had seen, she knew for a fact that he was no coach.

 _I used to be the only one who stood a chance against you…_

His words hissed in her head like a snake digging its fangs into her flesh. She shivered at the memory of him sliding a knife into her hand, looking down at her with his wicked eye. Adelaide reached up her dress, pulling the knife she had strapped just above her knee. It was the knife he had given to her.

 _Be who you really are…_

"I know you're in here," she said through gritted teeth, prowling towards the back of the library where the bookshelves were.

 _They made you too soft…_

"Come out here, you coward!" she shouted, feeling the anger from that night returning, "You said they made me too soft, remember? Well, you're wrong. I'm here now and I don't care what I have to do to get my answers from you!"

 _You'll get to be yourself soon…_

"Who am I!" she shouted angrily, "Tell me why I can't remember!"

 _See this? You gave it to me. This is what you are, Rivers._

"What did I do to you?" she asked with a shaky voice as she walked past each bookshelf, searching for him, "Why did I hurt you?"

 _I know you're angry._

"What did I do, tell me!" she shouted. Adelaide was almost on the verge of tears now. She hated this, everything about it. The darkness, the anticipation, the questions, and, most of all...the fear of herself. With every passing second it grew worse. She was a weak, pathetic, schoolgirl who was scared of herself.

"You did a lot, sweetheart," Graves said mockingly. Adelaide turned around with the knife raised to find him standing there with a cocky smile on his face and a bottle of beer in his hand. All the anger from before disappeared and she wanted nothing more than to fall to her knees and beg him to tell her everything. She found herself frozen as he took a step towards her.

"There's no going back from what you did," he smirked, stepping even closer. She couldn't move her eyes from him.

"What," she whispered, her voice sounding foreign to her, "did I do?"

"Unforgivable things," Graves grinned wickedly. He was right in front of her now and Adelaide flinched as he raised his hand. He held her chin, making her look up at his face, glinting from the light coming from the window behind her. "Things that they will do to you in hell when you get there, if you believe there is one."

"Who am I?" she whispered.

"I don't think you want to know," he grinned.

"Tell me," she begged.

"You're not who you think you are," he answered cryptically. "You're something much, much worse."

Adelaide was beginning to grow frustrated at his confusing answers.

"Tell me!" she shouted.

"Sorry sweetheart, but I'm afraid I've already said too much," he grinned, taking a step back. Adelaide let out a breath, swallowing.

"You work for Lukov," she stated and he didn't disagree.

"The money, he gave it to you," she said and he stayed silent.

"You work for him. He pays you to keep an eye on me," she said and Graves ran his tongue over his teeth in response.

"How does he know me?" she asked with a shaky voice. Graves began laughing as if she had made some kind of joke.

"How does Lukov know you?" he laughed, "Good one, Rivers."

"Where is he right now?" Adelaide asked, holding her ground. She could feel her hope slipping away. This was her only chance at getting answers from him but he wasn't willing to tell her anything. She didn't think she could go another day without hearing the truth.

"Now that, I can answer," he said, pointing at her, "I don't know."

He wasn't lying. If he was, he would have lied to her other questions. But he really didn't know where Lukov was. He did know everything else, but he was just refusing to tell her. Why? What did he know? Adelaide found herself twisting the knife in her hand.

"Alright, this has gone on long enough," he said, waving his hands, "Listen, I'm not going to tell you anything so just give up now, okay?"

"I am never going to give up," Adelaide said and she meant it in more ways than one. Graves laughed again, shaking his head.

"Of course you're not," he said, walking past her. He stopped between the two bookshelves, just under the window and Adelaide would later curse at herself for not realizing what he was planning sooner. He set his bottle of beer on the shelf.

"Which is why, I am going to leave," he grinned, reaching into his pocket for something. He held it up and it glinted in the light from the window. Adelaide's breath hitched in her throat.

A lighter.

"Here's my advice," he started. He was grinning like a madman now as he started the lighter. Adelaide was frozen in her spot as he brought the lighter closer to the wooden bookshelf.

He looked in her in the eye as he ignited the entire shelf.

It immediately caught on fire and burst into flames, the books on it fueling it faster. The shelf groaned as it began to tip forward, towards the shelf in front of it.

"Stop looking," was the last thing Adelaide heard before the bookshelf collapsed.

* * *

Peter thought he was too big of a coward to go to school now and face Ada and Ned. He decided to go home instead. Aunt May was probably already asleep by now and he would have no problem sneaking in and going right to bed. He would think of some excuse to tell May tomorrow.

After the police had come into the vault, they had thanked him – thanked him! – and he left shortly after to let them do their job. He had to admit that he felt pretty proud of himself for gaining the attention he had as Spider-Man. He knew if Uncle Ben were here, he would have been proud of him.

Peter was just going through all the different ways he would have told Uncle Ben about his secret identity if he were still here when he saw an ambulance and firetruck speed by under him as he swung over the street.

He let his instincts take over as he began following the emergency vehicles. They were heading towards...no, no way, that wasn't possible, he thought. But the closer they got, the more certain he became.

They were headed towards Midtown High.

He immediately wondered if Ada and Ned were okay. There was a fire, were they hurt? How did it happen? Did the school even know that there was a fire in the building right now? Had someone from the school called or someone else? Was it a big fire or a small one?

The questions pounding his head made him swing faster and soon the school came into view. His gasp got stuck in his throat.

The library was on fire. And there was someone inside.

Peter didn't see or stop for anyone as he raced towards the library. He heard the medics and firefighters yelling at him to get away from the building but his senses were all focused on getting inside. The smoke detectors hadn't gone off yet and the rest of the people inside the building seemed to be unaware of the raging fire.

There was a small window in the library from which he had seen movement inside. Just as soon as he reached the window, the fire detectors in the library went off. Now everyone knew there was a fire. The window was left slightly open and Peter easily tumbled through, landing safely on a spot of carpet that wasn't yet aflame.

He looked around, scanning the room for the movement he had seen earlier.

"Hello!" he shouted, carefully making his way inside. He ran past the shelves, searching between each one for someone trapped inside.

"Help!" he heard a voice shout and he immediately ran towards the sound, towards the back of the library. Peter stopped when he saw a shattered glass bottle at his feet, just before a huge chunk of the ceiling fell down in front of him. He jumped back, looking through the flames to see who was trapped between the shelves. He caught a glimpse of long brown hair before the fire roared and grew taller in front of him.

"Stay there, I'm coming!" he shouted, hoping the girl had heard him. Peter looked around frantically. She was trapped between two shelves and a wall, there was no way she would be able to get out from there.

He cursed under his breath. If only he had his webs. He could drop from the ceiling in front of her and then pull both of them up over the fire and through the sunroof over the middle of the library.

In that moment, Peter suddenly remembered that he kept extra webbing under his lockers and they were right outside the library.

"Stay here, okay? I'll get you out!" he shouted frantically and ran through the backdoor of the library, towards the lockers. He tore down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the lockers. He lifted them up and snatched his web shooters from the bag inside. Quickly, he ran back to the library as he loaded his web shooters on his wrists.

Peter stumbled into the library, barely avoiding the flames as he did. He stopped in front of the shelves again, trying to see through the flames. They were higher now. If they didn't hurry, the ceiling would soon collapse on them.

"Um...are you still there!" Peter shouted, not sure of what else to say.

"Yes!" she shouted back. She sounded terrified.

"I'm coming, okay!" he shouted back over the roar of the flames. He shot a web onto the ceiling, swinging himself up over the fire. He landed in the tight space directly in front of the girl who was crouched against the wall, trying to keep a distance from the fire that was coming closer to her.

Peter obviously cared for saving this girl's life but when she looked up, he found himself caring much, much more.

It was Ada. His Ada. His best friend.

Her hair was matted to her gleaming skin and her bright blue eyes were widened in fear. Her face was burning red from the heat and her dress and arms were covered in ashes. She was practically shaking.

"Y-You?" she asked, not quite believing it herself, "Spider-Man?"

Peter blinked, almost forgetting that he wasn't Peter to her right now, he was Spider-Man. He couldn't believe that she was here, trapped in this fire. He wanted to ask so many questions but he heard himself saying something else.

"We have to hurry," he said quietly, still staring at her. Somehow, she had heard him and she nodded at him, staring with wide eyes.

"Come on," he said gently, holding his arm out, "I won't drop you."

Her breaths were coming in short, frantic gasps but she licked her dry lips and took a careful step towards him. She didn't know if she should trust him but even though she couldn't see his face, something about him looked genuine. She found herself taking another step towards him and then she was standing right in front of him, looking up at the mask covering his face in fear and curiosity. Who was he?

A gasp got stuck in her throat as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

"Is there anyone else in here?" he asked quietly. Peter didn't know why he was talking so quietly or why he felt so calm despite the roaring fire around them. Adelaide shook her head.

"You're going to have to hold onto me," he said gently and she nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She was so terrified that she wanted to cry but she did as he told. She lifted her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. Her arms were loose but she didn't make an effort to move them.

"Closer," he whispered, looking down at her, "I mean, uh, so you don't fall."

Adelaide obliged and drew herself closer by tightening her arms around him. She was so close that her face was almost buried in the crook of his neck. For some reason, she noticed that he smelled like money. The ceiling creaked loudly, breaking Peter out of his trance.

"Ready?" he asked, lifting his free arm up to shoot his web. He couldn't see her face but she nodded into his suit and he shot his web at the ceiling, pulling both of them up. Holding her closely with one arm, he swung them towards the sunroof as the flames grew even higher. Shooting another web at the sunroof, he pulled the both of them through it and safely out of the library.

Adelaide had her eyes closed the entire time and she adjusted her face so that she couldn't open her eyes even on accident. She didn't want to see the fire. Peter felt her hair brushing against his neck and he found himself wanting to take his mask off just he could feel it against his skin.

"Almost there," he reassured her as he shot one last web and swung them off the roof of the library which collapsed seconds after they landed on the grass lawn.

Peter dropped his arm, letting the web fall. He wanted to hug Ada but something stopped him.

"Uh, we're safe," Peter said when she didn't pull away.

 _Don't smell her hair, don't smell her hair, don't…_

"Oh," she whispered, pulling away, "Right."

Peter dropped his arm from her waist and stepped away, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Adelaide coughed, her throat feeling raw as sandpaper. Her eyes began to water, burning from the smoke.

"Adelaide!" someone shouted and she turned towards the voice, realizing that it was Ned running towards her.

"Ned!" she breathed, relieved.

"Are you okay?" he asked once he was standing in front of her, "How did you get out?"

"I, uh…" Adelaide turned to show Ned that Spider-Man had saved her life, but she realized that he was gone. She scanned the lawn and even the rooftops, but the boy in the red and blue spandex suit was gone.

"I uh, came through the window," she said instead.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Ned said, hugging her. She hugged him back, finally feeling herself calm down.

She was safe. She was okay and it was because of Spider-Man.

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Adelaide, can never catch a break.**

 **On the plus side, SHE FINALLY MET SPIDER-MAN! TELL ME YOUR REACTIONS LMAOOO!**

 **I** **will say that the next chapter has major spoilers for Far From Home so if you don't plan on seeing the movie by then, I suggest you do.**

 _ **Question: Um, idrk, what did you think of this chapter?**_


	49. Chapter 46

**A/N: Helloo amazing people**

 **So quick heads up, this chapter has MAJOR SPOILERS FOR Far From Home and I'll put the spoiler starts and spoiler ends sign before and after the spoiler scene like last time. The scene is not particularly important to this chapter if you haven't seen the movie yet, but it is important to the future plot so I suggest that you come back and read it after you watch the movie.**

 **Also, I know the chapter starts with the "it was just a nightmare" but the last chapter really happened and this chapter is a few days later. Just a little note to avoid confusion :)**

 _ **Oriande Moonshadow: Hope you've seen Far From Home! I personally think it was a really great movie! And, yes, we are all very mad at Peter. Grr.**_

 _ **lizlil: You'll see why Tony and Pepper were mad in the last chapter...it's honestly kind of sad, but it had to be done :,( And Civil War is about to start full speed ahead and I'm very excited!**_

 _ **Shion Lee: Haha yes, Adie still doesn't know that Peter is Spider-Man yet and it is Chapter 46 but what can I say? This story is a very slow one ;)**_

 _ **Thanks to: Rellik693, ravencarr, CocoaFirefly, lizlil, Shion Lee, DearInfinity, KunaiKurenai, fairlystrange, and Oriande Moonshadow for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! Without you guys, this story wouldn't be here :,)**_

* * *

 _"_ _You're gonna love the holiday_

 _menu at the commissary._ _"_

* * *

 _A FEW DAYS LATER_

Adelaide jolted awake with a gasp.

After her eyes adjusted to the dark, she realized that it had only been a really bad nightmare and she was still in her room.

 _There's no coming back from what you did_.

She sighed, rubbing her face which was dotted with sweat. There was no way she would be able to sleep now, as much as she wanted to. It had been over a week since she had gotten to sleep. She felt like hell.

 _Things they'll do to you in hell when you get there, if you believe there is one_.

She swung her legs over her bed, sliding her feet into her slippers and pulling a robe over her shoulders. She needed fresh air and a very strong cup of coffee to substitute for her lack of sleep. The teenager padded into the kitchen and started the coffee machine and quietly waited at the island for it to finish.

 _"Are you okay?" Adelaide had asked, watching the billionaire with worried eyes. They had been standing in his lab. He had been working on something, tinkering and Adelaide was standing a few feet away, not sure if she should reach out and comfort him._

 _"Yeah," he shrugged, "Why wouldn't I be? I'm fine."_

 _"Okay..." she said quietly, turning away. "I'll be in my room if you need me." She hadn't believed him, obviously but if there was one thing she could relate to, it was pain._

 _And sometimes, when you were in pain, you just wanted to be left alone in your own misery._

 _"No, actually," he had said quietly, making her drop her hand from the door handle and turn around. He had been standing there, staring at the glass door behind her. He shrugged again, shaking his head. "I'm not fine...I...I miss her."_

 _Adelaide bit her lip, feeling her eyes welling up._

 _"Tony..." she had whispered. He shook his head, waving his hand._

 _"I'll be fine, don't worry," he had said, "Oh she told me...she told me to tell you before she...none of this is your fault. It's me. I pushed her away."_

 _"It's not your fault, Tony," she had said gently, fighting back tears._

 _"No, but it is. I never listened to her. I don't blame her for leaving. I actually judge her for not leaving me sooner."_

 _"No you don't," she croaked. She had wanted to comfort him but she had been glued to her spot. She had seen his eyes when he looked at her, they were rimmed red and blinking back tears. They both just stared at each other, at a loss for words. Words didn't make easier, time did._

 _"I'm not going to go anywhere," she had told him, fighting back tears and the billionaire nodded, looking away and biting on his bottom lip._

The coffee maker beeped, letting her know it was finished. She poured the black coffee into a mug and took both the mug and pot with her to the balcony. When she stepped outside, she realized that someone had the same idea as her and was already sitting outside.

"Hey," she said quietly, making the billionaire look back at her as she closed the door behind herself.

"Nightmare?" he asked as she sat down beside him.

"Yeah," she muttered, staring ahead at the city.

"What was yours about?" he asked. Adelaide shrugged, sipping her coffee.

"The usual," she said, "Death. Yours?"

"Same," he replied and Adelaide took another sip of her coffee, feeling it as it traveled down to her stomach. They both fell silent as they stared out at the dark city in front of them. She and the billionaire were both similar in more ways than they realized.

They lost their parents, they both lived in fear of themselves, and they could never let themselves be happy. Maybe they owed happiness to themselves but they couldn't let themselves be happy after everything they had done. Besides, anyone who came close to them always ended up getting hurt.

It was easier to wallow in your misery alone.

"Are we still going tomorrow?" Adelaide asked quietly.

"Yeah, we're still going. We have to show off our BARF," the billionaire said, attempting to make a joke. Adelaide shook her head.

"You really need to change that name," she told him, finishing the last of her coffee. She refilled her cup from the pot and took another sip, cringing at the strong and bitter taste.

"I know..." he mumbled, his eyes looking far away and Adelaide could tell he was thinking about more than just his latest invention, "I know."

* * *

" _Try to remember, the kind of September, when grass was green…Wake up, dear and say goodbye to your father."_

" _Who's the homeless person on the couch?" Howard teased, buttoning his blazer. Tony rolled off the couch, standing upright and stretching his arms out. He gave his father a look._

" _This is why I love coming home for Christmas," he told him, "Right before you leave town."_

" _Be nice, dear, he's been studying abroad," Maria said gently as she continued to play the piano. Wishing that her husband and her son would get along was too much to ask for, even as a Christmas miracle, but she always hoped that one day they would stop fighting their relationship._

" _Really? Which broad?" Howard asked his son, reaching out and pulling the ridiculous santa hat off his head, "What's her name?" He had hoped his son would have grown up by now but he shirked his studies and was always focused on girls that were not going to do anything to help his career._

" _Candice," Tony sighed, giving his father a scornful look. His mother continued to play the piano as if she were trying to drown out the sound of their argument and pretend it wasn't happening. That was what she always did but Tony couldn't even find it in himself to blame her._

" _Do me a favor," Howard started, "Try not to burn the house down before Monday."_

" _Okay so it's Monday," Tony said, walking over to his mother, "That is good to know, I will plan my toga party accordingly."_

" _Where you going?" he asked his mother, trying to sound indifferent._

" _You father's flying us to the Bahamas for a little getaway," she answered with a small smile._

" _We might have to make a quick stop," Howard added._

" _At the Pentagon, right?" Tony asked, facing his father. He always did this._

" _Don't worry," Tony reassured his mother, "You're gonna love the holiday menu at the commissary."_

" _You know they say sarcasm is a metric for potential," Howard told his son, "If that's true, you'll be a great man someday. I'll get the bags."_

 _Tony sighed angrily, walking away from his father. The old man just couldn't help himself, could he? His mother stopped playing the piano, letting the silence stretch for a second._

" _He does miss you when you're not here," she said, standing up, "And, frankly, you're going to miss us. Because this is the last time we're all going to be together. You know what's about to happen...say something. If you don't, you'll regret it."_

 _Tony looked at his mother, feeling his anger melt away. How did she always know the right thing to say? Why could he never say the right thing? Why was he such a mess up? He sighed, letting his mother's words take over his actions as his father walked back into the room with the luggage._

" _I love you, Dad," he said. The words felt foreign on his tongue and he didn't expect his father to say anything in return. He never did – never had, never would. But Tony didn't care, he was only doing this for his mother. He knew how much she stressed about his relationship with his father, or lack thereof._

" _And I know you did the best you could," he said, speaking to his mother more than his father. Her tearful expression made him want to wrap his arms around her but he held himself back. She gave him a small smile and pressed a kiss on his cheek._

 _If only he had known then that that was the last time she would smile at him and kiss his cheek. Hell, even if he had known that that was the last time his father would anger him. He wouldn't have fought it, he wouldn't have let them go._

 _But that was his mistake, his biggest mistake._

 _And he stood there silently as he watched them walk away from him._

"That's how I wish it happened," Tony said as the room faded away. The piano, the sofa, himself. "Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing or BARF. God, I gotta work on that acronym. An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus to clear traumatic memories. It doesn't change the fact that they never made it to the airport or all the things I did to avoid processing my grief but...Plus, 611 million dollars for my little therapeutic experiment? No one in their right mind would've ever funded it."

Adelaide was watching the billionaire from the side of the stage where no one could see her. She liked how passionate he got about these things. For the past week, this was all he had worked on. Maybe it was to keep his mind off of Pepper leaving but Adelaide was grateful that at least someone had found their distraction.

With a sigh, she checked her phone. There was a message from Ned, reminding her about the homework they had in Mr. Hans' class which she had forgotten to do. There were 11 messages from Peter, all which she deleted without even bothering to read. Her thumb hovered over Pepper's smiling face. Adelaide had taken it when they were baking together one rainy day and Tony had swiped whip cream onto their noses. That night they had both covered his face in his shaving cream after he fell asleep and they woke up extra early just to watch the billionaire wake up.

With a deep breath, Adelaide shot her a message.

 _Hey. Can we meet up?_

Tony had made a point to tell the teenager that she had nothing to do with Pepper leaving. Adelaide suspected it wasn't the first time they had been apart. She couldn't argue with Pepper's reasoning either. Tony was Iron Man and he was never going to stop being Iron Man. After Ultron, Tony had, for the most part, abandoned his suit and gave all his attention to Pepper. That had worked well, until...well, until now. It was clear the billionaire wasn't willing to give up his suit so Pepper left him.

Tony had said they were only on a break and Adelaide hoped he was right.

"...And quiet as it's kept, the challenges facing you are the greatest mankind's ever known," Tony continued, "Plus, most of you are broke."

 **[SPOILER STARTS]**

"He's good at that, isn't he?" a male voice said, startling her. Adelaide spun around. It was a man about Tony's age with brown hair and a beard and mustache, dressed in khakis and a polo shirt.

"Quinten Beck," he said with a smile, stretching his hand out. Adelaide shook his hand, still unsure of who he was.

"I work for Stark," he clarified but something was off about his charming smile, "See those? I designed them."

Adelaide glanced back at the glasses Tony was holding.

 _So you made them?_

 _I didn't but one of my employees did. Quincy Baker...something like that_.

Quinten Beck. He had designed the BARF glasses. Adelaide had to admit, she was impressed. It was one thing to work for Stark Industries, but it was an entirely different thing to create something this revolutionary.

"I'm sorry, but you haven't said anything in over a minute," he teased and Adelaide laughed, shaking her head.

"Sorry, I was just...I'm Adelaide Rivers," she said, "Tony told me about you. Well, he told me about Quincy Baker. Those glasses are really amazing, by the way — I tested them in the lab."

Something flashed across Quinten's face but it was quickly replaced with his charming smile before Adelaide could ask. Weird.

"Are you close with him?" he asked. Adelaide racked her brain for an excuse.

"I, well, I don't...

"Adie, let's go home," Tony called from behind, answering Quinten's question. She hadn't even realized that his presentation was already over but Tony seemed to be slightly off. Quinten gave her another winning smile.

"I see," he said and her smile faltered. Adelaide realized she was being paranoid, he hadn't said or done anything wrong. "It was nice meeting you, _Adelaide_."

He said her name strangely but he walked away before she could ask. Maybe he was just a little over...friendly? Shaking her head, she caught up with Tony who had already walked ahead of her.

 **[SPOILER ENDS]**

"What's wrong?" she asked Tony, trying to keep up with his fast pace.

"Nothing," he answered, dismissing her question with a wave of his hand. A woman suddenly caught up to them, looking apologetic.

"Mr. Stark, I am so sorry about the teleprompter," she said but Tony didn't stop walking, "I didn't know Miss Potts had cancelled. They didn't have time to fix it."

Oh. So that's why he was acting weird. Adelaide pulled her lips in, staring at the ground.

"It's fine," he muttered in a way that implied that it wasn't. He put a hand on her shoulder, making her look up. "You go find Happy and get in the car, I-I'll be right back."

He rushed off before anyone could say anything to stop him.

* * *

 **A/N: Good news, I have three whole chapters written ahead of time already. :))**

 **I also have a huge chunk of Far From Home planned out as well and let's just say this chapter plays a very important part in it...;)**

 ** _Question: Should I make a playlist for this book? If so, then some song recommendations would be appreciated :)_**


	50. Chapter 47

**A/N: Surprise update because why not? :)**

 **Y'all are gonna love this chapter tho...**

* * *

 _"Do you know how many_

 _l_ _ittle things had to happen_

 _just for you to exist?"_

* * *

"Tony," Adelaide whispered, leaning over him in the dark.

"Tony, wake up," she urged, shaking his shoulder. He mumbled something in his sleep, clearly in the middle of a nightmare. Adelaide hadn't been able to sleep as usual so she was awake when she heard him shouting in his sleep.

"Wake up," she said, shaking him again.

Suddenly, he jolted awake and scrambled away from her. She flinched, jumping back.

"It's me," she said quietly, "Adie."

The billionaire looked around his room, seeming to finally realize where he was. He let out a shaky breath, rubbing his face which was dotted in sweat. He pulled his legs over the edge of the bed and hid his face in his hands, keeping his back to her.

He had changed after MIT. Adelaide couldn't place her finger on it but he was different. He got more nightmares, he screamed in his sleep. He seemed more on edge.

Adelaide stood there, unsure of what to say or do. She felt like she had crossed a line and invaded his privacy but she knew that she had to wake him up. She knew how terrifying it felt to get lost in your nightmares and feel trapped in your own head.

"Go," he finally said without looking at her, "I'm fine."

Instead of listening to him, she sat down at the other side of the bed, her back to him as well. It was easier to talk when people weren't looking at you in pity.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, staring at the carpet. The glow from the city lights coming through the window allowed her to see the black patterns on the carpet beneath her feet.

"No."

Adelaide stayed quiet and began tracing the black patterns on the carpet with her toe. She didn't want to be alone in her room with her thoughts. She should probably leave, though and give the billionaire some space. But she was selfish and she couldn't find it in herself to leave.

"She fell into the fire again," Tony said after the silence had stretched on, "It was the end of the world. Everyone was dead, you were dead...because of me. I was the only one still alive."

Adelaide winced. That nightmare sounded familiar.

"I'm sorry," she said, not knowing what else to say. She really should leave. Adelaide stood up, taking a deep breath.

"Stay," he sighed just as she was about to walk out of the room. She caught his bloodshot eyes, considering it. Should she try to sleep? Would she dream of it again? Her sleep deprived state got the better of her and she turned around. She wanted to sleep, needed to sleep.

Taking her slippers off, she got on the other side of the bed and slid under the covers. A moment later, Tony did the same and they both fell asleep with their backs to each other.

Why did this always happen to them? Why were they so...broken? Would they ever be able to put themselves back together again? Did they even deserve to?

Somehow, in the midst of these questions, Adelaide found sleep.

* * *

 _Adelaide was sitting in a car._

 _It was the same car her parents had died in. Only, they weren't there. There was no evidence that anyone had died here tonight._

 _Adelaide stepped out of the car, letting the icy breeze hit her skin. The road was silent and seemingly abandoned. There was no settlement that she could see for miles ahead and Adelaide felt a million eyes watching her from the woods._

 _Her palms began to sweat as her breath turned frantic. Which way was home? Where were her parents? She picked a direction and began walking. Upon looking down, Adelaide realized she was wearing heels and they were loud. She took them off and began walking barefoot. She felt much safer this way, even if she was walking herself into a trap._

 _Soon, the road led to a small, old building._

 _Adelaide glanced around. Nobody seemed to be around. Besides, it couldn't hurt to look inside, right? She opened the door and stepped inside. Inside was a strange white room. The walls were mirrors and the room was white. Too white. Adelaide had to squint in the harshness of the light._

 _In the mirror, Adelaide looked the same as she had looked lately. Dark rings under her eyes, lifeless skin, dull eyes...It was nothing that she wanted to stare at._

 _Suddenly, Graves appeared beside her and Adelaide gasped. He had a huge hole in his chest and he wasn't wearing his eyepatch. What she found the strangest was that he wasn't wearing his usual smirk on his face. He looked...sad._

 _"Wh-What are you doing here?" Adelaide stuttered, stepping away from him. The room had no doors or windows - she couldn't escape._

 _"I'm lost," he whispered, "I need your help."_

 _"What?" Adelaide asked in disbelief._

 _"Brave," he said. Adelaide felt like a spear had pierced through her chest and she stumbled backwards, momentarily losing her balance._

 _"What?" she whispered again._

 _Suddenly, Graves was pushed onto the floor by a white-haired girl who had come out of nowhere. Graves struggled to breathe under her grasp._

 _"Hey! Stop it!" she shouted, reaching out but not quite being able to help. This was Graves. Did she want to help him? And what had he said? Brave? How did he know about that?_

 _The white-haired girl spun around and with a gasp Adelaide realized that it was her. It was the Blue Phantom. Except she didn't have kind blue eyes. They were sharp blue eyes that pierced right into her._

 _"You want to kill him, don't you?" she growled. Adelaide hesitated._

 _"Y-Yes but-"_

 _"Don't you get it? He tried to kill you," she sneered. Adelaide found herself slightly afraid of this girl who was inarguably herself._

 _"око за око, верно?" (Eye for an eye, right?)_

 _Adelaide hesitated, glancing at Graves. He didn't look like the same Graves who tried to kill her. He really did look lost._

 _"Brave," he said again and a memory flashed in her head with painstaking detail. The chaos, the fear, the sound of her falling to the ground, her last words...Adelaide squeezed her eyes shut, begging the memories to go away._

 _"Brave," he said._

 _"Stop it!" she cried, falling to her knees, "Stop!" The memories were taunting her, challenging her to try to stop them._

 _The Blue Phantom licked her lips._

 _"Revenge can't be stopped," she grinned. Adelaide looked up at her through the tears in her eyes. She stood up again._

 _"Give him what he deserves," the Blue Phantom hissed, tossing the gun to Adelaide. She looked down at the weapon in her hands, twisting it around._

 _Her finger found the trigger as if it belonged there._

 _"Do it," the white-haired girl urged, "Be who you really are."_

 _Graves was on his knees now, his hands being held back by the Blue Phantom. He had tears spilling over his good eye._

 _"Brave," he said as if he was desperately pleading her to not kill him._

 _Adelaide raised the gun._

 _Her compassion was lost. She couldn't feel anything except the cold metal in her hand._

 _"Show them that you're not pathetic, that you're not soft," the Blue Phantom encouraged. Adelaide looked into his eyes again. They were gray, just like the little girl's had been._

 _A voice in her mind told her that she shouldn't do it. An eye for an eye wasn't right. She should give him another chance. But then she realized – how did you decide if someone deserved another chance?_

 _"DO IT!" the Blue Phantom screamed._

 _Adelaide closed her eyes and pulled the trigger._

* * *

Adelaide jolted awake again. She momentarily forgot that she had fallen asleep in the billionaire's room until she looked around. Tony was asleep like a baby.

She just couldn't sleep. Nothing worked for her.

She felt the familiar tightening in her chest and it grew until she felt claustrophobic and decided that she needed to get out of here. She scrambled out of the bed and hurried out of the room. She stood in the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest, rubbing her hands up and down her arm to get warm. Pepper liked to keep it freezing at night and even though she wasn't here, Tony started to do the same. Adelaide knew it was one of his ways of trying to pretend that she wasn't gone so she didn't argue.

Besides, it was nice to have the room cold when she would jolt awake from a nightmare, drenched in sweat.

Finally, she decided to watch tv. There was no use in trying to sleep. With a sigh, she switched the tv on and the news channel began playing. She was about to change it when she heard something that caught her attention.

" _Eleven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria today."_

Adelaide squinted, reading the headline. What were the Avengers doing in Nigeria? The video switched to footage of a building on fire with people screaming and crying as they ran around trying to stop the fire. Adelaide turned the volume down, glancing back at the hallway to make sure she hadn't woken up Tony.

" _The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission when the attack occurred."_

Wakanda, that sounded familiar. Adelaide suddenly remembered Klaue and the black market and vibranium. Vibranium came from Wakanda.

" _What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?"_

Wanda? The news showed footage of Wanda using her powers to contain an explosion only to move it to a building. Adelaide gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Oh no. The news continued to talk about the Avengers being out of control but Adelaide switched the tv off. She didn't want to hear the rest, her stomach was already churning.

She stood up, feeling sick and restless. There was so much going wrong. So much that was out of her control. She pulled at her hair, beginning to feel frustrated. Adelaide couldn't even imagine what Wanda must be feeling at the moment.

The teenager sat back down on the sofa with her head in her hands. Pepper was gone, Tony was broken, and her suspicions about her past were true. Coach Ross and God knows how many others had died because of her. And her only link to her past, Graves, was gone; he had disappeared. She had even gone back to his caravan but there was a hillbilly living there instead. On top of everything, she missed her best friend, she missed Peter. Granted, she was the one mad at him, but she hadn't talked to him in a week and missed his quirky little jokes and his dorky smile.

Adelaide groaned into her hands. What was wrong with her? How the hell did you miss someone's smile? She was officially losing her mind.

She needed to take a walk. Outside, in fresh air where she could piece her melting brain back together. Before she could overthink it, she pulled a jacket over her pajamas and shoes over her feet and stepped into the elevator. Soon, she was walking away from the Tower, unsure of where exactly she was headed. She just wanted to walk and think about nothing.

Soon enough, she found herself in front of a very familiar building that she hadn't visited in over a year.

The public swimming pool.

* * *

From up here, Adelaide couldn't see a lot of the city. The building was only two stories, after all. But she didn't mind the view, however grounded it was.

She was sitting on the rooftop of the building with her feet swinging over the edge. There was no officer or guard this time but even if there had been, she could have easily made herself invisible unlike last time.

Shoving her hands into her sweatpants' pockets, she took a deep breath, staring up at the sky. She couldn't see any stars here like she could when she went to the compound. There were too many lights polluting the sky.

Nevertheless, for the first time in weeks, she felt truly relaxed.

Running from her problems wasn't the smartest idea that she had had, but it worked and, for now, that was more than enough for her. It was exhausting to constantly worry about everything. There came a moment when she wished she could be someone else like...Oprah. Oprah looked like she had it all together and figured out. Oprah didn't have to worry about her past. Rather, she was in a position where she could help other people.

Adelaide always felt like she was hurting more people than helping them.

After she had escaped the fire that night, Tony and Pepper took her straight home and stuck her in a bed for a few days. She hadn't gotten any major injuries, thankfully. But during the time she had been bedridden, she heard them fighting. At first, they would try to make sure she didn't hear it but soon, things had gotten out of control and one day, Adelaide came home from school to find Pepper gone and Tony a mess. Later, Adelaide learned that Pepper was staying at one of the Stark penthouses in the city, not too far away.

At school, Adelaide had completely stopped talking to Peter. A few days after the science fair disaster, Peter and Ned had made up somehow but she was adamant on refusing to forgive Peter.

" _I've already apologized a million times, I don't know what else you want me to do," Peter sighed. They were standing outside after school had ended and Ned's mom had already picked him up, leaving Adelaide to wait for Happy and Peter to wait for the bus._

" _Tell me where you were during the science fair and I'll forgive you," she said. Peter ran his hand through his hair and opened and closed his mouth a few times. Adelaide felt her anger resurfacing._

" _That's what I thought," she snapped. Happy pulled up the familiar black car into the pickup circle and she marched away without turning back. She knew that if she had looked back and seen his face, she would have forgiven him._

Adelaide sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She wanted to forgive him, she really did. She just couldn't understand why he wouldn't tell her where he had been. What had been more important than their science fair? She couldn't understand. He had stood her up twice before. Once at Ned's house and another time at the public library the night that Uncle Ben…

Michelle had won the 5,000 dollar prize for her water purifying project and she decided to donate it to help rebuild the library. Tony pitched in some more money and the workers had already began to fix it. Some recruiters from a non-profit who had been at the science fair offered Michelle a deal with their company for her project but she just handed over her rights from the project to them, saying she didn't want all the attention.

There had been rumors that a student had gotten stuck in the fire, but no one knew it was her and Flash had falsely implied that it had been him who was stuck in the fire. By the time the stories had gotten to her ears, they had consisted of a fire-breathing monster and Flash defeating him with a fire extinguisher. He was more popular than ever before.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, reading the screen. It was a message from Pepper. Adelaide glanced at the time. It was well past midnight, what was Pepper still doing awake?

 _Pepper: Yeah, you can come to my place tomorrow._

 _Here's the_ _address_ _._

Adelaide clicked on the link and it opened up the map app on her phone. She was only ten minutes away. Feeling somewhat relaxed, Adelaide slid her phone back into her pocket.

At least something was going right.

* * *

Peter was out on another one of his daily excursions as Spider-Man. Well, nightly. Either all the crooks had taken a day off, or Peter was too distracted to notice any robberies.

He swung himself onto the roof of a church and pulled his mask off with a sigh, shaking his hair out of his face. He looked over the city, but his mind was entirely elsewhere.

He missed Ada. A lot.

Because of his screw up, she hadn't spoken to him in a week. He really hurt her this time and he wanted to fix it but he didn't know how to. He had apologized but he could sense that it was different this time. Their project had gotten _disqualified_ because of him. He didn't blame her for being angry with him. If the roles had been reversed, he would have been equally angry.

He just wanted to fix it, make everything okay and back to the way it was before. That night that he had seen her in the fire absolutely terrified him. He saw her...differently. She was still Ada, but only different; it was unexplainable. He didn't know how she had ended up there but Peter didn't know what he would do if he hadn't gotten there in time and she...Not after Uncle Ben, he couldn't go through the grief again. In all honesty, Peter was just glad that she was okay whether she was angry with him or not.

If only she would talk to him.

He looked down at the mask in his hand, running his fingers over the designs absentmindedly. How long would it be before she forgave him? He had really screwed up this time. Peter knew he should just give her some space but he was too selfish. He wanted her to start talking to him again right now.

He wanted to tell her how glad he was that she was okay. He wanted to tell her that she had scared the crap out of him when he saw her in the fire. He wanted to tell her that he missed her and that, even though he was a screw up, he wanted her to forgive him. And there was something else he wanted to tell her, only he couldn't even put it into words for himself.

Deciding that it was useless to meddle in his thoughts, he pulled his mask over his head and swung off the church. He didn't want to think anymore, he just wanted to be Spider-Man and swing. So he did just that. He swung around, not really heading anywhere specifically.

Soon, he realized that the buildings had gotten taller and after looking around, he realized that he was in Manhattan. His senses told him that there was no crime here tonight either. Peter sighed and stopped on a random rooftop.

Maybe he should just call it a night and head home. Feeling even more miserable than he had when he snuck out of his room, he stood up, ready to head home. But just before he shot his web, something – rather, _someone_ caught his eye.

It was Ada. She was sitting on the rooftop of the building behind him.

Peter felt himself getting excited like a child on Christmas morning. So this was where she lived: in Manhattan! Suddenly, he remembered that she was mad at him. His shoulders fell. She didn't want to talk to him.

She didn't want to talk to _him_. She didn't want to talk to _Peter_.

But he wasn't Peter right now – he was Spider-Man. And Spider-Man was sure that she wanted to talk to him. Especially after he had saved her life. He felt extremely proud of himself for creating a secret identity, whether it just be for talking to his best friend. Taking a deep breath, he shot a web out ahead of himself and swung over to the building she was sitting on. He landed quietly so she didn't hear him.

Peter suddenly began to reevaluate his decision. Was it the best idea to talk to her? Wasn't this considered cheating? She was obviously mad at him and by talking to her as Spider-Man, he was basically forcing her to talk to him. He paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should just turn around and head back home.

To hell with it. She was his best friend and he missed her.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully walked towards her. He didn't try to stay quiet so when he stepped on some small rocks, her head whipped around and her eyes widened.

"Uh, h-hey," she stuttered. He noticed she was in her pajamas. He waved his hand awkwardly, not sure if he should sit next to her or not.

"Hi," he said, his voice sounding high like a nine-year-old girl's. He cleared his throat.

"Hi," she nodded, unsure of what else to say. For a moment, they were both silent, staring at anything but each other.

"Y-You can sit," she finally said, trying to fill the awkward silence. Spider-Man walked over to her and sat down on the ledge, swinging his legs over the edge.

"Do you come here often?" he asked, trying to make conversation. Why was it suddenly so hard to talk to her? Peter was so worried that he would say the wrong thing and mess this up for himself.

"No," she said, looking ahead, "I just needed to get away tonight."

Peter nodded understandingly. He knew more than anyone how it felt to just walk away from your problems and push them away until later.

"Do you, um...Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, glancing at her. He had began to fiddle with his fingers, something he did when he was really nervous.

"Not really," she answered, looking down at her lap. Another silence lapsed over them again and even though it wasn't as awkward as before, it still felt uncomfortable.

"Can I ask you something?" she finally said, looking at him.

"Sure."

"Why do you do this? Being a neighborhood superhero, I mean. You could do so much more, why do you choose this?" she asked.

"I haven't really thought about why," he shrugged, "I have the ability to help people so I should. Besides, the Avengers already do the big jobs. It's only fair that someone should think about the little jobs. Maybe some woman's purse being stolen doesn't seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it is to her."

"Hm," Adelaide answered thoughtfully. It made sense. Well, sort of.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked. She nodded. "How did you end up in that fire?"

Adelaide stilled. This was what she had come here to avoid thinking about. All the things that Graves had told her before he disappeared...Her jaw tightened.

"That's not any of your –" Adelaide stopped herself. He had saved her life, there was no reason to be rude to him. She let out a tired sigh. "I don't want to talk about that."

"Sorry," he muttered, internally cursing. He was ruining it for himself! The last thing he wanted was for her to get mad at Spider-Man as well and then he wouldn't be able to talk to her at all.

"So you go to Midtown High?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah," she answered, "What about you? Do you go to school?"

"I do," he nodded. Adelaide glanced at him.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me which school," she asked with a small smile.

"I could," he started, "But then I'd have to kill you."

"Very secretive," she laughed.

"I always am," he nodded, grinning under his mask.

"Can you tell me where you live, at least?" she asked. Peter considered it. It couldn't hurt.

"Queens," he answered.

"What are you doing here in Manhattan, then?"

Peter shrugged, looking down at the pavement. Before, he would have been terrified of being this high up. Now, the height only felt like a few feet.

"I needed to get away," he answered honestly. Adelaide nodded, understanding. A peaceful yet slightly uncomfortable silence covered them and they both just looked ahead at the city, lost in their own heads.

How did two teenagers like themselves end up sitting on the rooftop of the building at the public swimming pool at one in the morning, sharing about their life?

"Do you get nightmares?" she suddenly asked him.

"All the time," he answered truthfully. He still got nightmares about Uncle Ben dying. It wasn't something he liked to think about often.

"How do you make them go away?" she whispered, her voice laced with hope.

Peter looked at the scared girl sitting next to him. There was so much that he didn't know about her. Hell, he didn't even know where she went home to after school. He didn't know who her parents' were, he didn't know where she had disappeared to for three months last year, he didn't know how or why she had gotten stuck in that fire last week. And he didn't know what was making her so afraid.

"You don't," he answered honestly, "You kind of just...suck it up and deal with them. Actually, no, that's terrible advice, don't listen to me, I don't know what I'm saying."

Adelaide laughed. She didn't know who was under that mask but she knew that he was a good person. He did the things that no one else wanted to do. Most importantly, he had saved her life. And not that she would ever admit it, but he reminded her of her best friend who she missed.

"I agree, that is terrible advice," she teased. Peter cracked a smile under his mask.

"Do you know how many little things had to happen just for you to exist?" he suddenly asked, looking up. Adelaide turned to face him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when you feel like everything's going wrong in your life, just think about how many coincidences had to happen for you to be here. The universe is pretty big and all odds are against you, but you still exist. Makes your problems and nightmares seem sort of insignificant," he shrugged.

"Yeah…" she whispered, deep in thought, "You're right."

"Still bad advice?" he asked with a small smile. Adelaide laughed.

"No, not bad," she smiled.

That night, Adelaide slept a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Cute cute cuteee**

 _ **Question: What's your favorite part of this story so far?**_


	51. Chapter 48

**A/N:** **I started to read _This Lullaby_ again and I almost forgot how amazing of a writer Sarah Dessen is. I really love her books.**

 **Also, HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN ALL THE BEW MOVIES MARVELS GONNA RELEASE. THOR 4 AND A WHOLE FREAKING SHOW WITH VIZ AND WANDA AHHHHHHHH. IM GONNA BE SO BROKE NEXT YEAR TRYING TO WATCH ALL THESE MOVIES ARSFJGRSDL**

 **No time for reviews c uzmy l aptopdo esnthave wifi and my phone is glitching as ypu can see. :/**

* * *

 _"Run faster, Penis!"_

* * *

 _MOSCOW, RUSSIA_

 _11:45 PM_

It was raining in the capital of Russia.

Stubborn people were still cruising the streets despite the downpour. The homeless were scurrying for shelter. The streets were in gridlock as everyone rushed home all at once. Police sirens could be heard nearby and in the distance.

A peculiar man with an even more peculiar eye patch found himself standing in front of a small church in the big city. With a thin sweater and a cap over his head, he didn't turn many heads. Perhaps it was the rain that prevented people from stopping and studying the stranger standing stationary in front of the church, undisturbed by the rain.

Another man, much more hooded, approached the stranger to stand beside him. Clothed in black slacks and a sweater vest and accompanied with a cane, he didn't demand much attention either. Except, of course, now there were two peculiar men idly standing in front of a church in the pouring rain.

The older of the men, having seemed to realize this, took the first step forward towards the aging church door and his companion followed suit. Upon entering the church, they were greeted with silence and shelter from the rain.

They took a seat in the last row, the one closest to the door and they sat on either side of the aisle, keeping a distance between them. For a while, they enjoyed the silence which inevitably wouldn't last long as they knew. Unmoving in their seats, they simply stared ahead.

"You failed," the older man finally said.

"Failed wouldn't be the word I'd use," the other man replied with the corner of his lips tugging into a wicked smile of some kind.

"You had one job and you failed."

"Moscow," Graves noted with a smile, "Not the place I'd choose to be hiding from the world."

"Well I'm lucky you aren't choosing for me then," he remarked humorlessly, "The girl, Graves."

"She's fine," Graves replied, rolling his eyes. He pulled the soaking cap off of his head, holding it in his hands. Water from his short hair trailed down his neck.

"You scared her," he accused, "Trapped her in a fire."

"I rattled her cage and I knew she would find a way out," Graves shrugged, unaffected by the old man's cold demeanor, "You've done much worse."

Lukov ignored his comment.

"Your job was to keep an eye on her," Lukov said, finally turning to face him, "not get involved."

He hadn't aged significantly in the time since Graves had seen him last. Rather, the retired minister looked better than before. As anyone would suspect he would — he was so close to his triumph. Beady black eyes and jet black hair starkly contrasted his paper white skin. He looked sick and Graves knew better than anyone that Lukov was a sick and twisted man.

"Relax, Lukov. Rivers is fine," Graves reassured, resting his arm on the back of bench and crossing his legs casually. He pulled out a cigarette from his pants pocket which luckily hadn't gotten soaked in rain water like the rest of him and lit it up with a lighter. It had been a while since he had had a Russian cigarette. He preferred American, no doubt.

"You better hope she is. For your sake," Lukov said, leaning back in his seat. His cane sat peacefully beside him.

 _It's because of my knee. I need the damned thing when it rains_ , Graves remembered him saying. Lukov always made sure no one would forget that he wasn't old or weak — it was only the rain.

"I always worry about my sake," Graves grinned, letting out a puff of smoke.

"I know that you do," Lukov sighed, shaking and lowering his head, "She cannot know the truth until it's time." He said it as if he was protecting her. Which, he was. But Graves found it ironic that he was protecting her from the truth that he had created.

"It's been a year. How much more time do you need?" Graves scoffed, pulling his right foot up to rest on his knee.

" _Это почти время_ ," Lukov smiled wickedly, his old eyes alight with victory as he stared ahead, "It's almost time."

* * *

Adelaide had only slept for 2 hours, but given that that had been the most sleep she had had in over a week, she wasn't about to complain.

She was currently sitting at the kitchen island with a strong cup of coffee in her hand. The teenager was in a much better mood, the billionaire noticed as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mornin'," Tony mumbled, giving Adelaide a strange look. Was that...a smile on her face?

"Good morning," Adelaide said cheerfully as Tony poured himself a cup of coffee, "Sleep alright?"

"You could say that," he shrugged, sitting on a stool across from her. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he only stared at the teenager instead.

"What?" she asked.

"You look happy," he stated, narrowing his eyes. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"What, can't I look happy?" she asked, fighting off a smile.

"Seriously, what's going on?" he asked, leaning his elbows on the countertop. Adelaide shrugged.

"I just...am," she answered. Tony leaned back in his seat, putting his hands up.

"Okay, fine, don't tell me," he said, "But at least tell me why you're dressed so early."

"Why are you?" she asked.

"That's not fair – you have to answer at least one of my questions," he argued. Adelaide rolled her eyes again.

"I'm going...out," she answered vaguely.

"Out where? And – wait a minute, don't you have school?" he asked.

"Yes, I have school today."

"Then where are you going?" he asked as she stood up to put her cup in the sink. Adelaide avoided his gaze.

"Nowhere in particular," she answered.

"Okay, now I know for a fact that you are hiding something," he said and Adelaide sighed.

"Tony, please don't–"

"Why won't you tell me where you're going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. He was standing up now too. Adelaide stared at the ground, feeling like a toddler abashed for stealing a crayon.

"I don't think you would want to know," she said quietly.

"I think I would," he argued and Adelaide knew that he wouldn't let her out of the house unless she told him. She pulled her lips in, taking a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Where are you going?" he asked again, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm going to see Pepper," she said. He stiffened.

"Oh," he blinked, looking away from her, "...Oh."

"If you don't want me to go, I won't–"

"No, no, you go," he said, clearing his throat as he stared at his cup of coffee sitting on the countertop, "I'll...I'll be fine."

He walked away before Adelaide could stop him, leaving her feeling terrible.

* * *

Adelaide pressed the doorbell, feeling butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

The black double penthouse doors in front of her were huge and made of glass. Despite having lived in the Stark Tower, Adelaide felt out of place here. Everything was so...rich. Adelaide heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the floor and then the luxurious doors opened.

Pepper was wearing a white blouse and a gray pencil skirt. She had her hair twisted into a bun and Adelaide noticed she had more makeup around her eyes than usual. She also noted that her eyes were slightly red.

"Hi," Adelaide breathed.

The woman immediately pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face into her shoulder. Adelaide did the same, wrapping her arms around her and breathing her in. It had only been a week, but it had felt so much longer.

"I missed you," Adelaide mumbled into her shoulder. Pepper closed her eyes, pulling the teenager closer in response. They both pulled away after a while, and looked at each other, breaking into a small laugh.

"You look tired," the woman noted once they had calmed down, "Come on, I'll make you some coffee."

Adelaide followed her inside the penthouse, looking around in awe. The first room by the door was the living room which was accompanied by a kitchen to its left. The right side led to a hallway and there was a staircase on the left, by the window, leading up to the second floor. The wall across from the entrance was made entirely of windows that looked over Manhattan. A massive, sparkling chandelier hung over the foyer.

"Have a seat," Pepper said, gesturing to the gray sofa. Adelaide took a seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the expensive setting. It's just Pepper, she reminded herself. The woman walked into the kitchen to make the teenager coffee, the familiar sound of her heels clicking against the floor filling the silence.

"How is school going?" Pepper asked as she started the coffee pot with a beep. Adelaide knew that they were both trying to avoid the inevitable topic for as long as possible.

"It's okay," she mumbled, turning in her seat on the sofa to better look into the kitchen, "I'm a little behind on the homework, though."

"Math?" Pepper asked with a knowing smile.

"I really suck at it," Adelaide half- heartedly defended, shrugging one shoulder.

"Why don't you just ask Peter for help?" Pepper asked and then she bit her lip but it was too late; the question had already been asked. The woman knew that he had let them down during the science fair.

"We haven't talked since the science fair," she said, turning away from the kitchen and staring at the Persian rug on the hardwood floor. The coffee maker beeped and Pepper poured the coffee into a mug and handed it to the teenager. She took a seat across from her, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt.

"Has he tried to apologize?" Pepper asked. Adelaide got a weird feeling, watching her. Pepper felt so familiar, so much like home, but this setting was so...out of place. It was weird seeing Pepper call this her home when Adelaide had always associated the Stark Tower and Pepper both as her home. If she ignored reality, she could almost pretend that Pepper had her bags packed somewhere in this penthouse and was ready to come back to the Tower with her today. Hadn't a week been long enough?

"Yes," Adelaide answered, "A lot."

"Did he tell you why he wasn't at the science fair?"

"No," she grumbled, thinking back to the last time she had spoken to him at the bus circle, "Everytime I ask him, he doesn't answer. I want to forgive him, but…"

"It's frustrating when the people you trust hurt you," Pepper said quietly, watching the teenager for her reaction. Adelaide looked up, catching her eye.

"Is that why you left?" she asked, holding her breath.

"You understand, don't you?" Pepper asked, her voice laced with hope. Adelaide sighed, looking out the window. She rested her elbows on her knees and held her chin in her hands.

"I don't – I don't know what to think anymore," she said, lifting a shoulder, "Everything is just...falling apart."

"The best memories come from the worst of times," Pepper said gently and Adelaide knew she was right.

* * *

Their new gym coach wasn't that new.

"Five laps! Make it quick! I don't want to miss my lunch time," Coach Stiles shouted and then he blew his whistle. Adelaide noticed his whistle was covered in powdered sugar and she cringed.

She couldn't say that she had missed him but he was definitely better than Graves.

"I can't decide who's worse," Ned said to her as they began running. Adelaide always ran a little behind so she could keep with Ned. Peter was running up ahead with some soccer players. She felt angry at him for not running with them but then she realized that he had no reason to think he was wanted around anymore. Adelaide quickly cut off the downwards spiral that was about to start in her thoughts. She had been through it a million times. She was mad with him and she wasn't going to forgive him until he told her where he had been no matter how bad she felt about it.

Besides, he had been acting strangely...happy today. Adelaide didn't know why but he had changed from his usual mopey self. She wondered what it could be.

"Yo Penis Parker, can you run any slower!" Flash suddenly shouted and his friends snickered.

"Flash, no talking while running!" Coach Stiles shouted, his mouth full of a powdered donut. What a surprise. "And...uh, what's your name, kid? Penis? Run faster, Penis!"

Peter rolled his eyes at his hideous nickname but pushed himself to run faster nonetheless. Ned and Adelaide shared a look.

"Coach Stiles," Ned told her, starting to run out of breath from the exercise, "He's definitely worse."

Adelaide glanced behind herself to see Flash catching up. He and his friends were one lap ahead of her and Ned.

"Hey Flash, your shoelaces are untied," she told him. She brought a tingle to her fingertips and used the light to make his shoelaces seem untied. On second thought, she lowered her eyes so no one would see them glowing.

Flash looked down at his untied shoelaces which really weren't untied and lost his balance, tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face. Everyone laughed at him and Coach Stiles even cracked a powdery smile from the sidelines.

"Get up, kid!" he shouted and Flash groaned, pushing himself off of the floor.

"Nice one," Ned laughed.

"Thanks," Adelaide grinned. When she looked ahead again, she caught Peter looking back at her, a small smile on his face. Adelaide looked away, holding her smile until he turned away.

Maybe she was mad at him, but that didn't mean she didn't care.

* * *

"Did you see the news about the Avengers in Nigeria?" Ned asked Peter.

Adelaide hadn't been listening to their conversation until now. She was sitting across from them at the cafeteria table, busy trying to finish her math homework before the bell rang. Mr. Hans had given her the rest of the day to finish it and she had to hand it in before she left school today or else he would force her to take tutoring which meant even more math.

"Yeah, it was strange," Peter remarked, glancing at her homework. She knew him well enough to know that he was itching to help her. "I don't know what they were doing there."

Adelaide had completely forgotten to call and ask Wanda about what had happened in Nigeria. She couldn't have been okay with everything. She would have to remember to call her as soon as possible.

"The government's getting pretty angry with them…" Ned said, glancing at her. She merely shrugged. For once, she had no idea what had been going on. All she knew was what she had seen in the news.

"I don't know," Peter said, "I don't think the Avengers would ever hurt people on purpose."

"Me neither, but 11 people did die on their watch," Ned argued, "The UN thinks they need to be put under control."

"I don't think they should," Peter said, "They've saved us so many times, I think the UN should trust them. What do you think, Ada?" Peter realized his mistake but he had already asked the question.

"Sorry –"

"I think you're both right," she said before she could stop herself.

"Y-You do?" Peter asked, surprised that she had even answered. And especially because she had agreed with him.

"Yeah," she answered and she forced herself to take a drink from her water bottle before her motormouth started to forgive him without her permission.

"Oh, c-cool," he said, clearing his throat. Suddenly, his face brightened. Adelaide watched him curiously as he dug into his backpack for something. She glanced at Ned curiously but he only shrugged.

"Here," Peter said, handing her a black duffel bag with a grin. Adelaide took it, shooting him a curious look.

"What's this?" she asked. His grin widened.

"Open it," he encouraged. Confused, Adelaide pulled open the zipper of the duffel bag, peering inside. Reaching in with her hand, she pulled out their hoverboard. For a moment, she just held it, staring at it. The little LED light switched on under the hoverboard, indicating that it was on and ready to fly.

"I'm really, really sorry about the science fair," Peter started. He was giving it one more shot. After having talked to her last night as Spider-Man, he realized how much he had missed her and he wanted to be able to talk to her as Peter, too. Maybe she wouldn't forgive him, but he would still be able to talk to her. And he was certain that she would forgive him with time.

"I know it's our group project, but...I want you to have it," he said, studying her face. She hadn't said anything in over a minute and he was starting to get worried.

"That's okay with you, right Ned?" Peter asked, hoping his best friend would say yes.

"Oh yeah," he answered, looking at it as if it were about to fly at him any moment, "I don't want to go anywhere near that Deathboard."

"Ada?" Peter asked after she hadn't said anything in a while.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

There were a lot of other things she wanted to say to him but she bit her tongue. Getting the hoverboard meant a lot, but there was still so much that she needed to know before she forgave him. The most important being where he had been the night of science fair. A small part of her wondered if she was overreacting, but she shook it off. It was one thing to stand them up on a movie night at Ned's house but it was another to not show up with their project the night that it mattered.

Peter waited for her to say something else but she didn't and Ned started up a new conversation to fill the awkward silence between them. For the remainder of their lunch period, Peter watched her as she silently did her math homework, hoping she would just say something.

* * *

Logically, after having the same nightmares again and again, they should become less frightening. However, this was not the case for Adelaide.

She had managed to squeeze out 2 peaceful hours of sleep last night, but, tonight, she had not been as lucky. The teenager had fallen asleep in the billionaire's room again – more for his sake than hers – but, while he was sleeping soundly, she was breaking out in cold sweat. Again.

With a tired sigh, she padded into her room and jumped into the shower. The nightmares were seemingly getting worse – if that was even possible. She could physically feel the toll they were taking on her body. She didn't feel like eating, she was constantly tired: she felt as if she was literally living in a black hole.

She dragged herself back into her room, dripping all over the carpet but she was too tired to care and Pepper wasn't here to scold her about it. She pulled a hoodie and a pair of sweats on before tying up her hair and leaving the room.

As she began to look for her phone, she realized that maybe she could go out to the public swimming pool again tonight. Maybe Spider-Man would be there. Besides, after she had come home last night, she had realized that she had never actually thanked him for saving her life.

She found her phone which had slipped between the cushions on the couch and snuck outside the Tower, walking to the same building again. There was just something about taking a walk at night, it made her rethink all of her problems — in a good way.

Soon, she arrived at the building and she quickly ran up the stairs to the roof. She stopped in front of the door, hesitating. What if he wasn't there? He was a superhero, after all. He probably had better things to do than to hang out with some girl. She held her breath as she pushed open the door, peering outside to see if he was there.

He was. He was there. He was sitting on the ledge with his feet swinging over the edge.

He glanced back at the sound of the door opening and almost fell off the building in surprise. Luckily, he caught himself in time. Peter stood up, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"H-Hey," he laughed, "I didn't think you would come back."

Adelaide shrugged, fighting a smile as she walked towards him.

"I didn't think you would either," she said, stopping a few feet in front of him. She was twisting her hands around nervously, fidgeting, as Pepper called it.

"Actually," she started, breaking the silence, "I...um, I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"For saving my life that day," she said, looking up at him, "So, um, thank you."

"Oh," he breathed, "Oh, it-it's not a problem, really. I mean, it's what I do. Not that I think saving your life was just a job. Well, it was, but I-I obviously didn't feel like I was forced to and…and...and I really should shut up."

Adelaide laughed at his little ramble.

"How many lives have you saved?" she asked quietly after a moment. Peter shrugged.

"I don't really know," he answered, "At first I used to keep track, but then...I just lost count. I do more than saving lives, though."

"Yeah?" she asked, "Like what?"

"Like one time, I convinced this man who I found licking the streets to go to the hospital," he recalled. Adelaide raised her eyebrows; there was no use trying to fight the smile on her face.

"A street licker?"

"Yup," he nodded. She began laughing again.

"Just goes to show, you can find just about anything in New York," she laughed. His lips tugged into a smile under his mask.

"Yeah," he said quietly, looking at her. She looked different when she was smiling. She looked much younger, like a carefree teenager that she should be. Peter didn't know what was holding her back from being happy and maybe she would never tell him, but, like he had told her before, she didn't smile enough.

But he was going to change that.

About an hour later, they both found themselves sitting at the pool and dipping their feet inside. Peter couldn't take his suit off but he dipped his feet in regardless. Adelaide had rolled up her sweats and was silently swinging her feet in the water, thoughtfully looking up at the black sky. There was some light coming from the lamppost beside them so it wasn't completely dark.

"Do you ever think about what's out there?" she asked him. He looked at her in surprise.

"Sometimes," he answered, collecting his thoughts, "After the alien attack a few years ago, there's a lot out there that we don't know. Honestly...it's kind of scary."

"It is," she agreed, looking up at the sky as if she were looking for remnants of the alien attack from a few years ago, "What if they come again? What if we can't stop it this time? What if...what if we lose?"

"We can't lose," he joked, "We have the Avengers."

Adelaide knew he was only trying to lighten the mood, but she was suddenly beginning to understand why Tony made Ultron.

 _A suit of armor around the world._

What would happen when even the Avengers couldn't stop it? Who would have to die because of that? Who else would she lose? She tried to stop her downwards spiral again.

"I made it depressing," he laughed, "Sorry."

Adelaide smiled and a silence fell over them again. This time, it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. It was peaceful.

Just like the dark sky – at least for now.

* * *

 **A/N: _Question: Do you guys think adie is overreacting with her anger for peter?_**


	52. Chapter 49

**A/N: I have discovered online movie scripts and suddenly, life is easy.**

 **So I'm actually writing like three chapters ahead of what you're reading now and Civil War is in full speed. Full disclosure, it will seem like Civil War is starting off really slowly but then it'll be, like Rhodey says, BOOM! You won't even see it coming *cue me evil laughing the distance***

 **If you're getting antsy, just know that you'll know Everything about Adelaide by chapter 60 the latest ;)**

 _ **avatarange: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**_

 _ **lizlil: I love seeing how close Adie and Tony are too! I really love writing about them because they're just so similar with all the demons they have and weight on their shoulders. One of the reasons Endgame broke my heart :( I also love seeing Pepper and Adie because, since Adie and Tony are really similar, Pepper has two Tonys to look after haha**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: Believe me, they did not waste time on the hoverboard – I wouldn't write any scenes to waste anyone's time ;)**_

 _ **M (Guest): Thank you for binge reading ahaha. I'm glad you like it! Updates are every Wednesday :)**_

 **Thanks to: Freezefox, lovki1, Lehis8, CollegeGirl2018, MarvelousM10, HoneyGrl,** **avatarange, lizlil, M (Guest), and Thebookworm33 for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! I LOVE READING REVIEWS SO KEEP 'EM COMING YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE!3**

* * *

 _"I'm just very happy for Peter._

 _He sounds like a really great guy."_

* * *

 _A FEW WEEKS LATER_

"You're doing it all wrong," Tony said, watching the teenager, "Here, let me."

The billionaire took the hoverboard from the teenager's hand, placing it on his table. They were standing in his lab, huddled over the Deathboard. It had been weeks and Pepper still wasn't back. Adelaide always visited her, though. And Tony being the mechanic that he was, he tinkered. The Deathboard was seemingly his first prey.

It started when he found the teenager in his lab, flying laps around the room on the hoverboard. After watching her fly for about five minutes, the Deathboard began beeping and shaking out of balance and then it died. Luckily, Adelaide got away with only a scratch. But, since then, Tony had made it his mission to 'fix the piece of crap.'

Adelaide didn't argue. She knew it wasn't the best it could be. It only ran for 10 minutes and, lately, it wouldn't stop making a strange beeping noise. So she let Tony tinker with it, helping him out occasionally.

"Now give it a go," he said, closing the panel underneath the board and handing it back to her, "Oh, and I got rid of the button."

"You mean the _on and off button_?" she asked him, giving him an incredulous look.

"Yeah," he said, wiping his hands on a rag, "Now you have to lightly tap twice on the backside."

Adelaide laid the board on the ground and stepped onto it unsurely. Glancing at the billionaire and hoping this wasn't some practical joke he was playing on her, she gently tapped twice on the back of the board with her heel. The board came to life with a soft whirring sound that was unlike the earlier roaring noise of the propellers. The bands along the length of the board lit up with a soft white light.

And then the board did something Adelaide never expected it to do.

" _Scanning…Scanning...Scanning complete. Hello, Miss Rivers,"_ a male voice with a British accent said, " _What would you like for me to do?"_

Adelaide gaped at Tony who merely grinned, putting his hands up.

"Y-You put a voice in it!" she said in an accusing tone.

"His name is TADASHI," he said, with his familiar billionaire grin tugging at his lips.

Adelaide almost forgot what she was about to ask after seeing his grin. She had forgotten how much younger he looked when he smiled. She missed seeing him smile, which was hypocritical considering she didn't do it as often anymore either. The teenager thought that the only thing that would bring his smile back was Pepper but she had forgotten how strong he was.

He was used to the pain. Enough to push past it and live life in the present. She should learn how to do that from him.

"What does it stand for?" she asked, wanting to see the passionate smile on his face again.

" _I stand for The Artificial, Diligent, And Super High Intelligence,"_ TADASHI informed her, " _However, you are enabled to change my name at any time that you please."_

Adelaide considered her choices. She could change it, except what would she change it to?

"Who is he named after?" Adelaide asked the billionaire. Tony gave her his famous playboy smirk.

"Guess," he smirked. Adelaide felt a grin tugging at her lips and she thought she knew the answer.

"Tadashi Hamada?" she asked, feeling excitement bubble in her stomach and her grin widened before Tony even answered. She had a feeling that she was right.

"Bingo," he grinned.

"Are you serious!" she laughed. She loved Tadashi Hamada and she had forced Tony to watch the movie with her despite his multiple excuses to avoid watching it. He never actually admitted that he liked the movie, but Adelaide knew that he had and this AI only confirmed it. He also knew how much the teenager loved Tadashi.

"I'm always serious," Tony said and Adelaide rolled her eyes at his ego. Secretly, however, she was very glad that he was being cocky again – even though it was slightly annoying. Tinkering with her hoverboard had helped him more than it had helped her.

" _Would you care for a test run, Miss Rivers?"_ TADASHI asked. Tony's infectious grin had affected Adelaide as well and now she was grinning wildly like a child on Christmas morning, not that she knew what it actually felt like being a child on Christmas morning.

"Yes," she answered with a grin, "And call me Adelaide, please."

" _As you wish, Adelaide."_

Slowly, the Deathboard effortlessly rose up, lifting her along with it, and slowly began flying her across the lab. The ride felt much smoother than before and she could feel the board quietly humming under her feet unlike roaring loudly like when they had first experimented with it.

A few laps around the later, the board gently landed her at the same spot she started and Adelaide stepped off, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"So?" Tony asked, watching her expectantly, "Was it great or was it great?"

"It was amazing," she breathed, grinning wildly.

"Here, put this on," Tony said, tossing her a thin metal cuff. Adelaide looked at it curiously before sliding it over her right wrist. There were five small lights on the top that lit up one by one and then they all flashed together.

"Hold your arm up like...this," the billionaire instructed, pulling her wrist up. Adelaide watched him unsurely. What in the world was he doing? A moment later, her question was answered when the hoverboard flew up, attaching itself to the cuff on her wrist.

"Magnets," he explained with a smirk, "I have those on my suit, too. The Deathboard – amazing name, by the way – will come to you from anywhere. You just gotta raise your wrist."

"Awesome!" she laughed, taking the hoverboard into her hands. The board was barely 2 inches thick now and it also looked much sturdier. Per her request, Tony had done some aesthetic touch-ups on the board as well and now it had thin red stripes running along the length of the board that lit up white whenever the hoverboard was activated or in use.

"I love it!" she shouted, throwing her arms around the billionaire. Tony was caught off guard for a moment but a moment later he hugged the teenager back with a ridiculously large smile on his face.

* * *

"It's late, what are you still doing up?" Pepper asked. She had heard the tv playing when she woke up to get some water and when she came downstairs, she found the teenager watching _Stranger Things_ at 3 in the morning.

Adelaide looked over her shoulder at Pepper who still managed to look authoritative even in her pajamas. Adelaide had began to spend some nights over at Pepper's place (which Adelaide still didn't like). Tony said he didn't mind and Pepper was more than happy to have her over. It was like having divorced parents. Did she just call Tony and Pepper her parents? A strong indication that she needed sleep.

"I don't sleep," she shrugged. It was true. It had been almost 2 months since she had properly slept. Naps were the only thing that kept her going. She didn't get as many nightmares during her hour nap during the day.

"You don't sleep," Pepper repeated as if the teenager had been joking and crossed her arms across her chest. It was too late – early – for this conversation. Or any conversation, for that matter.

"Nope," she answered, turning back to the tv. Pepper sighed, dropping her arms.

"Adelaide, what is going on?" she asked, walking towards the teenager. She rubbed her face, trying to wake herself up. The woman had a feeling this was going to be a long conversation.

"Nothing," Adelaide answered, "I'm surprised you didn't notice earlier, I'm already rewatching season 2." She had been coming over for about a week now and this was what she did every night. Pepper sat down on the sofa beside the teenager, took the remote out of her hands and turned the volume down.

"You can't…" Pepper sighed and paused, "You can't just not sleep."

"It's been working pretty well for a month now so I'd say I can," Adelaide argued, her eyes stubbornly watching the tv.

"You look like hell," Pepper stated. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Gee, thanks," she mumbled, trying to focus on the tv instead of this conversation which was becoming increasingly harder.

"You need to sleep or you are going to die," Pepper argued, giving the teenager a stern look.

"You don't want me to sleep," Adelaide sighed, finally tearing her eyes away from the tv. The woman gave her an incredulous look.

"Adelaide _what_ have I been arguing about with you for the past five minutes?" she asked. Adelaide looked away with another sigh, biting the inside of her cheek to ignore the feeling in her chest.

"I...I get nightmares," she confessed quietly, staring out the window, "And I...I make them real."

"I don't understand..." Pepper said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"My powers," Adelaide started, "I use them in my sleep and it makes everything feel so real and I can't wake up until it's over. I scream in my sleep but I can't wake up." There had been a time a few weeks ago when she had screamed in her sleep and Tony had woken her up. She hadn't tried to sleep since then. The nightmares only seemed to get worse every time she did so she gave up trying.

"Adelaide…" Pepper started, "Doesn't Tony...does he…"

"Wake me up?" Adelaide said and Pepper nodded, "He did, once. But he screams in his sleep, too. Not every night, but I'm never asleep so I always wake him up when he does."

"But it's not your fault," Adelaide hurried to say once she saw the expression on the woman's face. This is what she meant when she said she always hurt more people than helped them.

"Yes it is," she said quietly, holding her head in her hands.

"It's not," the teenager argued, flailing to find the right words, "Trust me."

They both silently stared at the floor for a very long time. Adelaide wasn't sure how much time had passed before she realized that Pepper had fallen asleep on the sofa. Carefully, Adelaide helped her lie down, put a pillow under her head, and a blanket over her body.

She might not realize it, but Pepper wasn't doing any better without Tony either. Adelaide saw it in both of them – they were incomplete without each other, only they were too hard-headed to realize it.

Watching Pepper as she slept, Adelaide hoped they would realize it before it was too late.

* * *

"Hey Bugboy," Adelaide teased when she saw the familiar red and blue flash in front of her. He swung himself beside her, letting his feet fall into the pool in front of him.

"I hate that name," he groaned.

"Then that's what I'll call you," she smirked and Peter rolled his eyes under his mask, fighting back a smile. He had been coming every night to see Ada. She was here some nights and on the nights that she wasn't, he would do some crime fighting in Manhattan before heading home. Adelaide felt much more comfortable around him now and they had become sort of...friends.

"You weren't here yesterday," he said and she sighed, lightly swinging her feet in the water.

"Yeah, I was over at my aunt's and she has the eyes of a hawk," she said, a small smile on her face, "She'd catch me before I could even walk out of the door."

"That bad, huh?" he laughed. Adelaide smiled.

"That bad," she agreed.

"What about you?" she asked, bumping her shoulder with his, "How do you handle school and homework and sneaking out every night – wait do your parents know that you're Spider-Man?"

"My parents?" he whispered, feeling his throat tighten, "N-No, they don't."

"Well, they might find out sooner or later," she teased. Peter swallowed, looking down.

"My parents died years ago," he whispered and Adelaide dropped her smile, feeling terrible.

"Oh…" she whispered, "I'm so sorry, I didn't…"

"It's fine, you didn't know," he shrugged, wanting to change the topic before it turned into a pity fest, "So you got any friends at school?"

"A few," she shrugged, looking away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, reading her expression. She shrugged again.

"I have this friend," she started, "His name is Peter. Remember the science fair?"

He nodded eagerly, wanting her to continue. Since she had stopped talking to him, he never got to see how she felt about the whole science fair night fiasco.

"We did a group project together. Me, Peter, and our other friend, Ned. We made a hoverboard," she told him, "Peter was supposed to bring the hoverboard except he was late and when the judges came to us, they were really impressed with our project but when I told them that we didn't have the hoverboard, they disqualified us. It was so humiliating."

Peter winced, very glad that she didn't know that it was him under the mask. He had a feeling that a bit of her anger was resurfacing.

"And that wasn't the first time he had stood us up either. One night, he disappeared on Ned and I and no one knew where he was. I even called his uncle but he didn't know either and it was so late and you know how New York is. Of course I was worried about him," she said, glancing at him. Peter nodded in agreement. He remembered that and he remembered how angry she had been with him that time.

"Of course you would be," he said.

"Then the next day when I confronted him, he told me I was _overreacting_. Do you think I was overreacting?" she asked him. Peter's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. He had learned his lesson last time to never tell a girl that she was overreacting.

"Definitely not," he said.

"Exactly. And then he invited me to his house to do math homework – I'm actually pretty good at math, by the way. I think he only pretends to help me with my homework because he needs the practice," she lied and Peter disguised his laughter as a very weird-sounding cough.

"He sounds like he's not very good at math," he said and Adelaide shrugged.

"Anyway, you know what he gives me? Coconut chocolates!" she said, exasperated, "He knows the only thing that I'm allergic to is coconuts and he still gives me that. The nerve of that guy."

"Wow, he sounds like a douche. Then?" Peter asked innocently, enjoying watching her rant. He had a feeling that she had been penting all this anger up for a while now and it was weirdly entertaining to watch her get angry over him.

"Then he tried to apologize to me but we both ended up arguing again and then he–" Adelaide stopped, suddenly remembering what he had done next.

"He what?" Peter asked, not realizing what the answer to his question was. In his defense, he had barely been following along to begin with.

"Um, nothing," Adelaide said, clearing her throat and looking away.

"So did he make it up to you?" Peter asked, referring to the recent events of the science fair. However, Adelaide's mind was still spinning around that one snowy day.

"H-He did," she mumbled, feeling her stomach doing strange things at the thought of Peter kissing her. It had been so long ago, it almost felt like it was only a dream but the strange feeling on her lips proved otherwise.

"He did?" Peter asked, confused. When had he made up to her about the science fair? And if he had, then why was she still not talking to him?" "How?"

Adelaide's fingers flew up to touch her lips before she realized what she was doing and she tried to cover it up by pretending to scratch her cheek. Peter looked at her oddly. What was she doing?

"I don't remember," she lied, "It was last year, it's been a long time."

At this, Peter grew even more confused. Last year? But the science fair was only...oh. She wasn't talking about the science fair. She was talking about...He glanced over at her hand resting under her chin and her odd gesture from earlier suddenly made sense.

Oh... _Oh_.

Peter felt his face getting hot and he was suddenly grateful for his mask covering his red face. That's how he had made up to her last time. Did that mean that he should...this time, too? No... _No!_ That was the craziest idea ever. But then again, he had no idea how girls worked. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Um so, uh, did he um...I mean, are you still...you know, mad at him? For the science fair, I mean," he stuttered. Adelaide was relieved for a change of topic.

"Yeah," she answered, "Very. Wouldn't you be if your project got disqualified?"

He nodded unsurely.

"And the worst part is that he won't even tell me where he had been during the science fair. When I had asked his aunt, she said he wasn't home. And every time I ask him, he just doesn't answer," she sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. Peter suddenly had the urge to tell her the truth but he held back.

"I think you should forgive him," he suddenly said and Adelaide looked up at him in surprise.

"You do?" she asked, "Why?"

"Well, you said he's your best friend, right?" he asked and she nodded, "Then he probably misses you and he probably feels terrible about what happened."

Adelaide knew that he was right. Peter always looked miserable around her and she knew that he felt terrible for what happened. And he was her best friend and she knew him well enough to know that he hadn't done it on purpose. But…

"You're overthinking it," he said, reading her expression, "You miss him too, don't you?"

"Too?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. Peter's eyes widened.

"I-I mean he probably misses you too," he stuttered, "So...um, do you? Miss him, I mean."

"Yeah," she said quietly, staring at the water, "A lot."

Peter grinned under his mask, feeling his heart do a little jump. She missed him!

"Then what are you thinking about! Forgive the poor guy!" he said, starting to feel excited. Adelaide bit her lip unsurely.

"I don't know..." she muttered.

"Don't think too much," he said, grasping for a string to pull. Was this considered cheating? Probably, but he didn't care if Ada was about to forgive him.

"Okay," she breathed, sitting up straighter, "Okay, I'll forgive him."

"Yes!" Peter shouted, throwing a fist in the air and Adelaide laughed, giving him a strange look.

"Why are you so happy about it?" she asked. Peter sat back down, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm just very...happy for Peter," he lied, "He sounds like a really great guy."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, smiling. He was. And she was going to forgive him.

She was finally going to forgive Peter.

* * *

With the end of the school year coming up, Midtown High was going crazy.

Teachers were prepping for final exams and putting grades in last minute, students were studying like mad and preparing for the prep rally next week. Even the janitors and lunch ladies were working overtime to get everything done.

It was regulated chaos.

At the moment, Adelaide and Ned were heading towards the gym. Adelaide had barely avoided the wrath of Mr. Hans who was practically breathing down her neck to force her to finish all of her late and missing assignments. He threatened to fail her but Adelaide didn't take it personally. She'd figure something out — she always did.

As they were walking down the hallway, there were a bunch of different clubs crowding different parts of the hallway, working on some kind of poster or sign. There supposedly had been a contest held by their principal for the best spirit banner or poster. That club was going to get a cash prize that they could use for their club activities.

They passed by the theater club who was working on a banner right by the double doors leading into the gym.

"If you want to have donuts at practice again, _work harder people_!" a girl that Adelaide recognized as Lillian from her English class shouted. The other kids began to work faster, racing to finish their job before the late bell rang.

Adelaide walked past them and into the gym, grateful that she wasn't a part of any clubs. Ned, however, was part of the decathlon team and they were working on some secret poster during their meetings which were usually during their lunch time due to the short amount of time they had before the rally.

Inside the gym was no different.

There were walls being repainted and janitors cleaning the bleachers and parts of the floor being polished. The art club was working on some mural on the wall across from the entrance and some of the coaches were huddled together, deep in discussion.

"My class will meet outside on the football field today!" Coach Stiles said into the megaphone, "I repeat, my class will meet outside on the football field today!"

The megaphone made a strange screeching sound and everyone in the room protested, covering their ears.

"See you," Adelaide told Ned once the sound was gone and they both parted ways to the locker rooms to change. She hadn't seen Peter all day but this was the first class that they had together so hopefully she would be able to meet him and talk to him. Adelaide was surprised how easily Spider-Man had convinced her to forgive Peter.

After changing into some shorts and a workout tank top, she tied her hair up as she walked out of the gym towards the football field. Squinting under the harsh sunlight, she spotted Coach Stiles standing in the center of the field but she still couldn't see Peter anywhere. Huffing, she skipped down the steps leading from the backdoor of the gym to the football field.

"Where's Peter?" she asked Ned after coming to stand beside him. Her friend shrugged.

"I haven't seen hi – oh, there he is," he said, pointing to the steps that she had just climbed down.

Peter was running down in a hurry – he was running a bit late. Coach Stiles began to call the roll (it was a miracle that he remembered to) and Peter made it just in time to say 'here!'. He came to stand on the other side of her, fidgeting. Ada was going to forgive him today! She hadn't...changed her mind, had she?

"I need to talk to you later," she said, leaning over to him. Peter nodded eagerly, biting his lip to keep his smile from showing.

"Listen up, class!" their coach shouted, getting their attention, "Today we will have stations! Lee will assign everyone a number and you will go to your designated station. If you have questions, don't bother me! Understood?"

"Yes coach," the class grumbled. For a gym coach, he was pretty lazy.

"Lee!" he shouted and poor Lee stumbled forward.

"Yes coach?"

"Assign everyone a number from 1 to 9!" he ordered and then marched off to sit on the bleachers with his box of powdered donuts and began watching something on his phone. Lee began assigning everyone numbers and then Adelaide separated from Ned and Peter to go to her station. She wasn't sure how long they were going to have to do this, but she hoped it would end soon so she could talk to Peter.

However, because of the stations, she never got the chance to talk to him before the bell rang and everyone rushed to the locker rooms to quickly change before their next class. She figured she would talk to him at lunch.

* * *

Lunchtime was no better.

Peter and Ned both went to the theater to work on their poster for the decathlon team and Adelaide was left to eat lunch by herself. Well, there was also Michelle and her book but they weren't very good company.

After 15 minutes of eating lunch alone, Adelaide stood up, tossed her tray in the trash and left for the theater. Maybe she would be able to talk to him while he worked on the poster.

That idea went out the window as she entered the theater which wasn't regulated chaos – it was just chaos.

Several students, including Flash, were making paper airplanes and throwing them around the room. Others were running around trying to find materials. Some were feasting by the snack table and Mr. Harrington was yelling at them for not helping. There was a paint spill that Liz and Betty were both cleaning up. Really, the only two people working on the actual poster were Ned and Peter and as far as Adelaide knew them, they both sucked artistically.

"Peter," she called, approaching their table but he didn't hear her over the noise.

"Hey," she said, coming to stand in front of the table. Peter looked up at her in surprise and accidentally drew a line on the poster with the blue marker in his hand. He looked down at the poster with wide eyes.

" _Shit_ ," he cursed, looking back and forth from Adelaide to the poster to Mr. Harrington. He was going to kill him for messing up the poster.

"J-Just wait one second, okay?" he said, walking backwards and holding his arms out with one finger raised, "Just don't-don't go anywhere."

Adelaide nodded, fighting back a smile at his dorky actions. Once he was convinced that she wasn't going anywhere, Peter ran up to Mr. Harrington, pulling him away from the snack table to talk to him. Adelaide crossed her arms over her chest, watching Ned continue coloring something.

"What's going on?" he asked her with a knowing smile.

"I'm forgiving him today," she smiled.

"Really?!" Ned exclaimed, also accidentally drawing a yellow line on the poster.

" _Shit_ ," he said, looking down at the poster with wide eyes, "Mr. Harrington's gonna kill me."

"Yes, he will," Mr. Harrington said, coming to stand behind him. Peter was standing beside the man, wincing. He and Ned were both so screwed.

"Well, not technically because it's against teacher conduct," Mr. Harrington added, "But I am doing it in my head."

"S-Sorry," Ned apologized, wincing. He and Peter both shared a worried look.

"It's fine," Mr. Harrington sighed, rubbing his temple, "You two are the only ones even working on the poster. Just go to my room and get some white out. Top left drawer."

"Yes sir!" Peter said and he and Ned hurried to follow his orders.

"Please, _please_ wait here, okay?" Peter whispered to her on his way out and she nodded. Mr. Harrington went back to address the snack kids and Adelaide found herself standing alone in the chaos. She studied the poster instead of watching Flash discreetly throw spitballs at Mr. Harrington.

It read "GO MIDTOWN TIGERS" in blue and yellow, their school colors. Along the edges were pictures of students cut out. There were pictures of every club and lots of teachers too. As her eyes scanned the pictures, she found one of her, Ned, and Peter standing in front of the museum they had visited last year, the one with all the spiders. Adelaide couldn't exactly remember having taken the picture but they were all smiling happily.

There was another picture of Peter under that except he was with Liz and they were both sitting beside each other in a classroom, working on something. Adelaide couldn't stop staring at the picture even though she wanted to look away. Clenching her jaw, she forced herself to look away.

"You're Ada, right?" someone asked and Adelaide turned around to find none other than the Liz Allen standing there with a perfect smile with perfect teeth on her perfect face.

"Adelaide," she corrected and Liz laughed nervously.

"Sorry, it's just that Peter calls you Ada all the time and I thought–"

"He talks about me to you?" Adelaide asked, surprised.

"Well, he mentions you sometimes. I take it that you two are pretty close?" Liz asked with one of her perfect smiles. Adelaide didn't trust her intentions but, technically, she hadn't said or done anything wrong. Yet.

"Very," Adelaide answered, "We're best friends."

"Wait – best friends?" Liz asked.

"Yeah," she said, giving the girl a curious look, "Why?"

"Oh," Liz said, her face turning slightly red, "I-I just thought...Nevermind."

"What is it?" Adelaide pressed, taking a step towards her. Liz didn't seem to be intimidated by the action like she had hoped. She bit her lip.

"Well, since you two are so close, I just thought that maybe...maybe you were together," Liz said. Adelaide's eyes widened.

"T-Together, together?" she stuttered in surprise and Liz nodded.

"But it's my fault, I shouldn't have assumed–"

"We're just friends," Adelaide snapped, feeling as if her voice was stuck in her throat.

"Of course," Liz nodded awkwardly.

"Liz! We need you over here!" Betty shouted from the stage and Liz glanced up.

"Be right there!" she shouted back and then she turned back to Adelaide with another perfect smile, "It was nice talking to you, Adelaide."

Adelaide nodded in agreement. It hadn't been nice, but she figured she probably shouldn't say that to her face. Liz turned around, but then she suddenly stopped and faced her again.

"I almost forgot," she smiled, "I wanted to ask if you would be willing to join the Decathlon team. We could use someone like you for the Chemistry section."

Adelaide almost rejected her offer, but then the picture of Peter and Liz on the poster caught her attention and she stopped herself.

"Sure," she heard herself saying, "I'll join."

"Great!" Liz beamed, "I'll get you the forms!"

As Liz walked away, Adelaide tried to forget their conversation but she couldn't seem to shake it off. Had Liz really thought that she and Peter were... _dating_?

* * *

Adelaide couldn't get ahold of Peter until _after_ their last class of the day ended. Ned smartly made an excuse to hurry out to the car circle, saying that his mom was here early so then it was just her and Peter taking their time to walk towards the car circle.

"So you said you wanted to talk to me...or something," Peter added, trying to contain his excitement. Adelaide nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "Um, about the science fair…"

"Yes?" Peter urged, wishing she'd talk faster.

"About that night," she started, realizing that they had been walking so slowly that they were the only ones left in the hallway, "I decided to, um..."

"To what, Ada?" he asked quietly, looking down at her. They had stopped walking now and they were standing in front of the golf club's spirit poster, facing each other.

"I decided to forgive you," she breathed, staring at the ground. She glanced at him to see his reaction and she found him grinning from ear to ear.

"Are you serious?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down. She smiled, nodding.

"Thank you!" he shouted, pulling her in for a hug and wrapping his arms around her without thinking. A moment later, Adelaide relaxed in his arms and awkwardly hugged him back but, suddenly, Liz's words popped into her head.

 _Well, since you two are so close, I just thought that maybe you were together_.

She quickly pulled away from him, but Peter didn't notice the frown on her face.

"I promise it won't happen again," he grinned and Adelaide nodded, believing him and giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"So we're good?" he asked, just to double check. She realized his hands were still on her shoulders but she didn't make an effort to move them off. It felt...nice.

"Yeah, we're good," she smiled.

What she had seemed to forgotten was that things were never good for too long.

* * *

 **A/N:** _**Question: Follow up question from the previous chapter, do you think Adie did the right thing in forgiving Peter?**_

 **Civil War is creeping up...and if you didn't get my memo in the first author's note, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! I read every single one and they go straight to the heart :,). Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense, but roll with it.**


	53. Chapter 50

**A/N: Full disclosure, for the next few chapters, you will most likely hate me. *hides behind tony***

 **ALSO, this might just be the last peaceful chapter and starting with this chapter, every chapter for like the next 10 chapters will be**

 **ACTION ACTION ACTION**

 _ **GASP GASP GASP**_

 **HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT**

 **So buckle up ;)**

 **Also im sorry i cantf oreviewsbeca use im updating from my phone a nd n otylaptop and it is glotching again as you can see and im too tired to fix it. God.**

* * *

 _"If I recall correctly, there was a_

 _fire-breathing dragon and – oh,_

 _there was also a giant mutant ninja turtle."_

* * *

There were only a few times when Adelaide had cried. She had not anticipated for one of those times to be in her sleep.

"Adie, honey, wake up," the billionaire whispered, gently wiping the tears from the teenager's face with his thumb. Her eyes flickered and she stirred on the couch, pulling away.

"Adie," he said again as she opened her eyes in confusion.

"Tony?" she mumbled sleepily, barely making out the figure of the billionaire crouched down in front of her.

"Yeah," he said softly, studying her face, "It's me. I'm here."

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up on the couch, letting the blanket fall from her shoulders.

"God, what time is it?" she mumbled, fighting back a yawn.

"I saw you crying in your sleep," Tony said in a serious tone, pushing himself up off the floor to sit on the coffee table behind him.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, sighing and rubbing her face, "Sorry I woke you up."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"I saw you _crying_ in your _sleep_ ," he repeated and she sighed again, licking the tears off of her lips as she stared at the coffee table he was sitting on. She realized that she must have fallen asleep while watching tv.

"I said I'm fine," she grumbled, feeling exhaustion taking over. She ran her hands through her hair, suddenly feeling hot and stuffy. She didn't want to be interrogated at the moment. Tony pulled his lips in and then let out a breath. He pushed himself off the coffee table and sat beside her on the couch.

"Come here," he said gently, holding his arms out. Adelaide glanced at him hesitantly but obliged, curling up beside him. His embrace was warm compared to the temperature of the room. She realized she was shaking and Tony seemed to realize this too because he held her closer, soothing her hair gently. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" he mumbled without moving. Adelaide closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath, feeling as if her walls, her barrier against the world, had just crumbled to pieces. No one had asked her that. With everything that was going on, everyone was preoccupied.

"Adie..." he said quietly and that was all it took to let her unravel completely. She broke into tears which got out of control until she was heaving with sobs in the billionaire's arms.

"Shh," he said, soothing her hair, "Let it all out. It's okay. I'm here with you, you're safe."

There was no use in trying to stop her tears. She had been holding them in for too long and it felt so good to let them all out. All the pain and fear left her slowly, tear by tear.

"It's okay," he repeated gently, holding her closer, "It's okay."

Adelaide cried about her parents, she cried about her memories, she cried about her nightmares, she cried about in fear, she cried in pain, she cried because it was the only thing that relieved her pain.

She cried and it was the most heartbreaking sound Tony had ever heard.

Tony had been too caught up in his problems to give his attention to the teenager. From Pepper to Charles Spencer to the Avengers in Nigeria, he hadn't realized how broken the teenager had become in the past two months.

He didn't realize it when she woke him up from his nightmares, he didn't realize it when she laid beside him just so he would be able to sleep peacefully, he didn't realize it when she got dressed a bit earlier than usual to make him the best breakfast she could because she knew how exhausted he had been the night before.

He didn't realize that while he had been trying to fix his broken pieces, she had been falling apart.

Her body let out a final shudder and she was out of tears. Adelaide sniffled, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. For a moment, she simply stared at the coffee table as her eyes burned.

"I'm sorry," Tony suddenly said and Adelaide looked up at him without moving out of his embrace.

"Why?" she asked. Her voice sounded nasal and slightly raw.

"For not paying attention to you," he shrugged, looking across the room to avoid looking at her, "I didn't realize that you..."

"It's fine," she said, sniffling into his shirt, "You had a lot going on."

"It's not a good enough excuse," he said and Adelaide only shrugged, not knowing what else to say. A comfortable silence lapsed over them and Adelaide focused on her breath, trying to steady it. In...out...in...out...

"I'm glad you showed up at this place a year ago," he said, and Adelaide could hear the smile in his voice, "And I'm glad that you're here now."

"Me too," she agreed quietly, breathing him in. He smelled like metal and maybe some beer.

Adelaide didn't know how much time had passed that they had been in that position. It felt like time passed different in the dark. Maybe it had been half an hour, maybe an hour. She didn't care. She hadn't been this at peace in what felt like years. She had thought Tony was asleep but he surprised her by what he said to her.

"I love you," he mumbled into her hair, drawing her closer and catching her off guard.

She never expected him to say that to her. She was the one who had shown up uninvited into his life and threw it out of proportion. And she didn't know why exactly he loved her or why she felt the same way, but Adelaide knew that whatever the reason that she was here, no matter how horrible it could be, she wouldn't have changed a thing. She nestled her face into his shirt.

"I love you too."

* * *

It was Sunday night and Adelaide had successfully avoided talking to Tony about what had been bothering her – well, almost. He had caught her at lunch and asked her if she wanted to talk about what had been bothering her, but she dodged that conversation. She had had the strong urge to tell him everything last night but a certain feeling had held her back. Maybe someday, but not today.

As per her usual nighttime routine, she headed to the public swimming pool to meet Spider-Man. He was already there, sitting on the roof this time as she made her way over to him.

"Hey," she said, sitting beside him and swinging her feet over the edge.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile, "Tough day?"

"Tough life," she said, laughing lightly as she looked up at the sky.

"So..." he started and Adelaide looked over at him, raising one eyebrow.

"So what?" she asked.

"So did you forgive Peter?" he asked innocently as if he didn't already know the answer.

"Yeah," she answered, "I did."

"And? Do you feel good about it?" he asked, watching her expressions intently.

"I do. You were right. I really did miss him. Tomorrow, when I see him at school, things will be back to normal...I hope." Adelaide couldn't shake off what Liz had told her. Had she really thought that she and Peter were dating? Sure, they were close, but she was also close with Ned. He was her best friend too. So why Peter? What was different?

"What do you mean?" he asked. Adelaide didn't think it was in anyone's best interest to tell Spider-Man about what some girl from her school had told her.

"Nothing. How was your day?" she asked, swiftly changing the topic.

"Caught a crook on my way here," he shrugged, "He was stealing some lady's purse." He didn't add the part about how he was disappointed that the crook hadn't been the man he had been looking for since December. Peter wondered if he would ever catch that man. Maybe that was what he deserved after he had let him go the first time at the cage fight.

"Look at you, Bugboy. You'll be getting a call from the Avengers any day now," she teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, if they start catching small-town crooks," he mumbled sarcastically. As if.

"You never know," she shrugged and then took a deep breath, taking in the city air. It smelled a lot like petroleum and a hot summer.

"I've been meaning to ask, do you have any friends? Besides me."

"A couple," he answered honestly.

"Are they superheroes, too?" she asked eagerly, turning to face him and Peter laughed at the image of Ned in a red cape chasing a crook. Or Ada glaring at a crook to make him turn himself in.

"I doubt it," he laughed.

"You think so highly of your friends," she grinned, rolling her eyes, "At least tell me how you got your powers.''

"Well, let's see...if I recall correctly, there was a fire-breathing dragon and – oh, there was also a giant mutant ninja turtle..."

"You suck," she laughed, shoving his shoulder and rolling her eyes. Peter laughed too. It was nice to hear her laughing. He noticed that she had been doing it more often around him lately. He didn't know how he felt about that, but it did make his stomach feel a bit strange whenever he heard the sound of her laughter.

They fell quiet for a while, lost in their own heads. The silence had become a part of their strange friendship. It was peaceful. Adelaide watched the people walking on the streets, wondering if their lives were as wrecked as hers. If they were, they were all holding it together much better than she had been.

"Do you ever just...want to start your life over?" she asked, interrupting the silence.

"All the time," he agreed, "But my Uncle B- I mean, my Uncle Billy once told me that everyone can walk away from their problems, only the best of people can face them."

"Well, it would be helpful if I knew what my problem was," she laughed humorlessly. Peter was itching to ask, but he figured she wouldn't tell him and that he might just end up making her mad. After everything, that was the last thing he wanted.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said and she shrugged.

"No, I don't think I will," she answered, thinking back to the cold-blooded murders she had committed in her nightmares, "And some days, I think it's better if I don't."

Peter didn't know what to say so he stayed silent. This was the first time she had told him anything this personal.

"This is gonna sound crazy," she started, "but...have you ever killed someone? You know, as a superhero."

Peter was slightly caught off guard by the question, but he managed to recover.

"I haven't," he answered. He decided not to tell her that he almost had once. "You?"

"I don't...no, I haven't," she answered. She was going to say _I don't know_ but she figured that would probably terrify him. How would she even explain that to him?

"Okay..." Peter said, unsure of what else to say, "good."

"Do you think killing someone who killed someone you love is justifiable?" she asked.

In her nightmares, she always hesitated before she pulled the trigger on Graves. The thought that always stopped her was...who was she to decide how he paid for his actions? She always believed that she deserved a second chance so why was Graves any different? Despite that, she always shot him in her dreams. It was easier to kill, even if it wasn't justifiable.

"I do," he answered and Adelaide looked at him in surprise.

"You do?" she asked.

"You know, an eye for an eye," he shrugged, thinking about how he wanted vengeance for Ben. He didn't know if killing that man would make him happier or bring him closure, but he knew that he had to do it for Ben.

"I don't know..." she said quietly, staring at the pavement, "Taking someone's life isn't that simple."

"I think that it is," he said. She thought back to when Peter had almost killed a man. That night, she had done what she believed had been the right thing to do at that time. But what if Spider-Man was right? Had she really done the right thing that night?

"So if, for example, some man were to kill your uncle, would you kill him?" she asked carefully. Peter's breath hitched in his throat.

"Is this an example or a real situation?" he asked.

"It happened to someone I know...Peter. It wasn't his fault, really. His uncle had just died and he was so angry...I had never seen him that angry before. The gun was right there, in his hand, and he was about to kill the man, but I...I stopped it. I couldn't let him do it because I knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had. He doesn't know, but I think it was the right thing to do at the time. I guess I'm not sure anymore."

"Y-You stopped him?" Peter whispered, feeling his body ignite in anger. He couldn't believe it. He barely even remembered how the man had gotten away to begin with but it all made sense. Ada had shown up right afterward.

She had stopped him from killing Uncle Ben's killer.

"I acted on impulse. I did what I thought was right at that time," she said, staring at her hands in her lap.

Peter shook his head. He couldn't believe it. All this time...All this time he had been looking for Ben's killer when it was Ada's fault that he had escaped to begin with. His breaths became shorter as he tried to control his anger.

He really, really couldn't believe it.

"I-I-I have to go," he suddenly said, backing away from her before his anger got out of control. Adelaide looked up in surprise.

"Um, okay," she said, confused as to why he was leaving so suddenly.

But before she could ask, he was already gone, leaving her alone on the rooftop.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this chapter is short. It was actually much longer but I had to cut it in half to build suspense like the good author I am. Unfortunately, the next few chapters will be just as short. :(**

 **So I have an announcement to make. Chapter 56 is going to literally be Adelaide's memories. Everything you've ever wanted to know, any questions, all the confusion, suspense...anything. Chapter 56 ;) I started to write it and it's going to end up being like 11,000 words long so I am excitedd.**

 **If I did the math right (fat chance that I did) then Chapter 56 should be out September 9th. :D**

 **ANYway, question. What do you think Peter's reaction is gonna be?**


	54. Chapter 51

**A/N: FIVE MORE WEEKS**

 **Ya'll. College hasn't even started and it's already hard. Do you know how complicated it is to apply for college? There's soooooo many little details they give you a headache. I might just drop out of college and become a stripper or some crap lmaoo.**

 **Anyway, you are like really gonna hate me after this. Sorry not sorry.**

 _ **MarvelousM10: If your last name started with J you could tell people to call you MJ haha that would be so cool. And cool idea! Unfortunately, that is not how they're going to find out about each other's secret identities, but I will just say that maybe you won't be disappointed by this chapter ;) Anyway, thank for leaving such a long review and it makes me really happy that you like this fanfic so much!**_

 _ **lizlil: I'm glad you liked the Tony and Adie moment! I love writing them together, they just go together so well ahh.**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: Ah, I missed your crazy long reviews haha it made me smile :) It was so sweet! I can tell how much you love Adie and I'm so glad you do! I'm sorry to hear that you're going through a rough patch and I would give you advice but I suck at it as much as Peter does haha. All I can say is read, listen to music, and enjoy your own company. Also, when I was little, I used to think that I had this superpower where I could make someone look at me by just looking at them across the room lmao so you're not the only one. And don't worry, I plan on finishing this story completely :)**_

 **Thank you to: _Phoenix-Jessica, Buzzkid, AlecLightwoodMagnusBane, MarvelousM10, Thebookworm33, and lizlil_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! You guys are the real MVPs! **

* * *

_"If you don't take out the trash,_

 _I'll sell your phone while you sleep."_

* * *

Peter didn't come to school for that whole week and, by Friday, Adelaide was beginning to get worried.

"Miss Rivers, may I speak with you for a moment?" Mr. Hans asked after her algebra class had ended. It was too early in the morning for another one of his get-your-act-together-young-lady-or-you're-going-to-fail lectures. She could already feel a headache making a debut behind her eyes.

"Sure," she sighed, gathering her books and telling Ned to wait outside for her. Mr. Hans was sitting behind his desk in a manner that would make a queen proud. He smiled politely as she approached him, but Adelaide knew that nothing good came from Mr. Hans smiling.

"Your grades, Miss Rivers. They're - oh how do I put this nicely...they're horrible," he said blatantly. It wasn't anything Adelaide hadn't already heard before. "You would imagine that with the end of the year coming up, they would have improved. However, they have seemingly gotten worse. Is there any particular reason for this...drop in grades?"

 _Yes_.

"No," she said, fidgeting with the books in her hand and then she added, "Sir."

"I am afraid that I am going to have to give you an ultimatum, Miss Rivers. Either you raise your grades or you will fail this class."

"Fine," she mumbled, wishing the conversation would end just so she could get out of here. The smiling calculator poster behind his desk seemed to be mocking her and it was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable.

"And since I care about my students personally," he started and Adelaide knew she wasn't going to like the rest of his sentence but she refrained from making a beeline for the door, "I have signed you up for mathematics tutoring in the library every Monday after school in hopes that perhaps a tutor can help you improve your grades."

"I don't need tutoring," she mumbled, trying not to roll her eyes, " _Sir_."

"The lack of a particular vowel in your report card seems to think otherwise, Miss Rivers," he said.

"Fine," she groaned, "I'll do the freaking tutoring."

"Good," he smiled, "You are dismissed."

Adelaide made sure to slam the door on her way out.

* * *

A knock on her bedroom door made her look up from her math homework. For a moment, she had forgotten that Pepper was gone so it was a bit surprising to find the billionaire standing there.

"Hey," he greeted, walking in and taking a seat on her bed. She bit her tongue from scolding him when he kicked his shoes up on the covers. He was wearing a _Black Sabbath_ shirt which he had been wearing for three days now and was in dire need of a good wash.

"Do you need something?" she said, not sure what he was doing in her room,

"The question is," he said, "do you?"

"What?"

Instead of answering, he walked over to where she was working, pulling an ottoman with him, and sat down beside her. His eyes lingered on the hoverboard which was hovering beside the teenager's desk. It was holding up a cold pizza and a can of coke. He raised an eyebrow

"I was lazy," she shrugged, offering him a slice of pizza. Rolling his eyes, he took the slice and bit into it

"Pepper got a call from your math teacher," he said, his mouth full of pizza.

"And she told you about it?" Adelaide asked, trying not to get her hopes up about the two of them getting back together.

"We're not a couple of kids giving each other the cold shoulder," he rolled his eyes, "We still do adulting. Like taking care of you."

"I think that I take care of you more than you take care of me," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. Tony and adulting in the same sentence? Yeah, right.

"That is a negative attitude, young lady. Grounded. For two weeks," he said.

"Are you serious?" Adelaide asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Talking back to an adult? Three weeks," he said and Adelaide saw the smile he was trying to hold back but she played along nonetheless.

"You're terrible at parenting," she said, rolling her eyes.

"And that wasn't even my best parenting," he teased and Adelaide's heart did a little jump, "If you don't take out the trash, I'll sell your phone while you sleep."

"Lucky for me, I don't sleep," she said, trying to hide a smile of her own. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yeah, well I'm Tony Stark," he argued and Adelaide began laughing.

"That's your comeback?" she laughed.

"It's worked before," he shrugged, swallowing, "Anyway, forget that. I am here because your grades suck and lucky for you, I am a genius."

"Genius, billionaire, Iron Man, philanthropist...how do you ever find the time for a mundane teenager like me, Mr. Stark?" she teased.

"It's all in the genes," he grinned, tapping his head and she laughed again.

"You are never going to let that go," she said, shaking her head.

"Never," he promised.

Oddly enough, Adelaide found it comforting. Maybe they were never going to be related by blood, but he was still the most important person in her life – he always would be.

"Oh and you need babysitting for next Thursday," he said, glancing at his phone before pocketing it.

"Where are you going?" she asked, sipping her coke.

"To the compound. Impromptu Avengers meeting. Something about the UN having a power complex. Anyway, since I'm awesome at parenting, you get to choose your babysitter: Happy or Pepper," he said and Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"You already know what I'm going to say," she told him and he looked up at her.

"That I'm awesome at parenting?"

"Not even close. I'm coming with you," she said and Tony grinned.

"Because I'm awesome at parenting and you want to spend every waking minute with me," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," she said.

And sitting there, in her room as the billionaire tried to explain math to her, Adelaide realized that not all relationships were created by blood – there were some that ran deeper.

And she was lucky to have that kind with Tony.

* * *

Without Peter there, the pep rally hadn't been as fun. Especially since the Decathlon team (which she still couldn't believe she had signed up to be a part of next year) had won the banner contest and they earned a cash prize for their club and a surprise pizza party.

Although, it had been slightly entertaining when Mr. Harrington had slipped on a banana peel that Flash had thrown on the floor. Mr. Harrington fell onto the clarinet player in the band and she fell on the oboe and so on until the entire Midtown High band was on the gym floor because Flash didn't take the time to find a trash can for his banana peel. The video was viral on youtube by now. People were calling the Midtown High band the 'Domino Band.'

Since Peter hadn't been answering his phone all week long, Adelaide had called May to make sure that he was okay which was how she had learned that he was running a fever and which was why she was going to his house with a bowl full of hot soup and a copy of _Die Hard_ to spend the evening.

After Happy had dropped her off at Peter's apartment complex, she was about to head up the stairs when she heard someone call her name from the parking lot. She spotted May waving at her from her Civic. Adelaide waved back, turning around and heading towards her.

"Hey, May," she greeted, leaning against the open passenger side window.

"Hey, are you going up to see Peter?" she asked with a vibrant smile. She had been doing a lot better lately. Adelaide didn't know what had changed, but May wasn't her jumpy self anymore. It was nice to see that she was moving on.

"Yup," she replied, holding up her bag, "And I come bearing gifts."

"I'm sure Peter would be glad to have some company. I didn't want to leave him alone but duty called," she frowned.

"Don't worry about him, I'll make sure he's fine," Adelaide reassured, standing straight up again.

"Thank you so much Adelaide," May smiled, "See you!"

She rolled up the window and pulled out of the parking lot. Once she was gone, Adelaide headed back upstairs and stopped in front of the Parker residence. She knocked twice.

Peter opened the door a moment later. He wasn't wearing a shirt, was the first thing that she noticed. Her eyes ran over his abs and she swallowed. Hard. Holy shit. He looked...It took her a moment to realize that his hair was disheveled and his eyes looked bloodshot and tired. She knew this look very, very well. She saw this in the mirror almost every day. She had practically _invented_ that look.

"Hey," she greeted brightly, holding up her package, "May told me you were sick so I brought you some soup and a movie."

"Don't want it," he monotoned and went to shut the door. She stopped it with her hand, her smile faltering.

"Aren't you going to ask me to come inside?" she asked, slightly thrown off by his odd behavior. She shrugged it off as part of his fever.

"No," he said and went to shut the door again and she wasn't fast enough to stop him. Adelaide blinked at the white door in front of her. Had sweet and polite Peter just shut a door on her face? Maybe he was running a really, really high fever. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, she knocked again.

"What?" he hissed, opening the door.

"I..." she started, taken aback by his behavior, "I just want to make sure that you're okay."

To her surprise, he laughed.

"As if you care," he said. She narrowed her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. She hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, she had been trying to reach him all week because she had been worried about him. And now that she finally had gotten ahold of him, he was acting like an asshole.

"Nothing," he said and went to shut the door again. Adelaide stopped him just in time this time, feeling slightly angry with him.

"Pete, what's going on?" she asked, "Why are you so angry?"

"Why am I angry?" he laughed, "That's a good one, Adelaide."

For some reason, hearing him call her by her full name felt like she had just been slapped in the face and she took a step back, suddenly seeing him in a different light.

"What's wrong with you?" she said quietly, shaking her head as if this was just another one of her nightmares, "You disappear for a week right after I forgive you and I come here to make sure that you're okay but now you're acting like this...this...asshole when I did nothing wrong."

He stepped outside, closing the door behind himself.

"Did nothing wrong?" he asked, practically shaking in anger, "You did everything wrong, damn it!"

"Tell me then!" she said, on the verge of shouting, "What the hell did I do?"

"You-" Peter started, but he choked on the words, realizing that if he told her why he was angry then he would also be telling her another one of his secrets. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"What is it?" she asked angrily. She could see him clearly struggling between deciding to tell her or not tell her.

"You-You're sick, you know that?" he sputtered in anger and Adelaide felt her face losing color. She had no idea what he was talking about but she was terrified. It was as if she was living her nightmares, but, this time, there was no waking up.

"If you would just tell me-" she tried again, trying to keep her voice calm.

"You let him get away!" he shouted, making her flinch at the volume of his voice, "I had him and you let him walk away! That's what you did!"

"Let who get away?" she whispered, her eyes following every expression on his face.

"Who, Peter?" she pressed, stepping forward when he didn't answer. They were standing so close now. Looking up into his eyes, she could see the red lines of fatigue in them. Hear his short breaths. He was breathing heavily, livid. Adelaide didn't think that this was the Peter that she knew. She was afraid of him, in all honesty.

"His killer," he said, his voice a deadly whisper and she wouldn't have heard him if they weren't standing so close. It was all spilling out of him now. He was so angry, he wasn't thinking straight. So when he heard himself saying these next words, he knew it was too late to take them back.

"Uncle Ben's killer, you let him get away," he whispered, looking down at her.

A whole minute passed by in absolute silence as Adelaide repeated his words in her head over and over and over.

"I had him," Peter hissed, interrupting the silence, "I had him at gunpoint. I was about to kill him and I don't know what trick you pulled, but then he was gone. You let him run away when I was this close to killing him! _God_ , I have never–I have never been _so fucking mad_!"

Adelaide's mind still hadn't caught up with what was happening. She was hearing him speak, but the words weren't registering in her mind. She stumbled backwards, almost losing her balance.

"I could have gotten Uncle Ben his justice, but you took that away from me! You didn't have the right! Because of you, I'm out every night looking for that _goddamn_ _criminal_! Because of you, he might have killed other innocent people! Do you have any idea what you did! You don't get to decide what I can and can't do! Damn it, you just – _argh_! I can't even look at you!" he growled, pulling at his hair.

Adelaide couldn't move. She still wasn't sure if she was having a nightmare or if this really was reality. Peter would never yell at her like that. But he just had.

"Just get out – get out of my life!" he shouted, shaking with anger, "I don't ever want to see you again!"

And with that, he marched into his apartment and slammed the door.

* * *

Adelaide wasn't sure where she was or how long she had been out when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket.

"Hello?" she answered without reading the Caller ID. Her voice sounded like sandpaper, but that was the least of her problems.

 _"Adie?"_ came Tony's voice. He sounded panicked and it took her a moment to realize why. She hadn't been home in hours and it was dark outside. _"Where are you? Do you realize how many times Pepper and I called you? You've been gone for hours, where are you!"_

Adelaide looked around, but it was hard to make anything out in the dark. She wasn't alone, though. There were a dozen of people walking about, but none of them seemed like they were from the good crowd. Somehow, fear wasn't what she was feeling at the moment. It was a mixture of guilt and sadness and shock.

"I don't know," she answered quietly and she heard the billionaire let out a breath to calm himself down.

 _"I'll find you, okay? Just stay put,"_ he said and hung up, leaving her alone with her thoughts again. She found an empty bench on the sidewalk and took a seat, staring at the pavement.

It had been God knew how many hours since she had walked away from his apartment. She couldn't remember where she had lost the soup and movie, but she didn't care. She had just aimlessly walked around the city for hours, trying to put her brain together as if it had too many pieces of information to remember.

Even though it had been hours, Adelaide still wasn't sure what exactly had happened.

There had been Peter. And had been mad. And then he told her something that only one person knew. And she wasn't sure if she should believe what her heart was telling her to believe. It couldn't be true...could it? All this time...Was he...? It just didn't make any sense.

It felt like hours had passed when a black car pulled into her vision and Tony stumbled out, running towards her. She was vaguely aware that he had pulled her into his arms.

"Thank _God_ you're okay," he breathed in relief, tightening his grip, "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was?"

He pulled away to look at her face when she didn't answer. He held her face in his hands, beginning to look worried.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, brushing her hair back and checking for injuries, "Are you okay?"

"I messed up, Tony," she whispered shakily, feeling her face heat up, "I messed up."

"What happened?" he asked softly, wiping the tear that had just fallen from her eye with his thumb.

She broke down for the second time that week, sobbing into his jacket as he wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, soothing her hair as she broke down in his arms, "I'm so sorry."

She didn't know why he was apologizing but she couldn't stop crying long enough to ask. The teenager was vaguely aware of the billionaire leading her back to the car and she slid into the backseat with him, never letting go of her hold on his arm.

"Tell Pepper I've got her and she's safe," she heard him say as he rubbed his hand up and down her back and the car began moving ahead.

* * *

 **A/N: Welp. Looks like Peter's and Adie's ship just won't sail. Sucks to be them. BTW, what's their ship name? Padelaide? Padie? Pada? Petelaide? Rarker? Pivers? Nothing seems to work lmao. RIP.**

 **I know you guys hate me after this chapter and I'm probably supposed to say some reassuring crap but tbh it only gets worse from here so.**

 **Fun fact. I have the next 6 chapters written and I had to pretty much rewrite all of them today because I changed one little scene. Stupid impulse scene writing. Smh at myself.**

 ** _Question: Now that the roles are reversed, do you think that Peter's anger is justified?_**

 **EDIT: I don't know if everyone is missing it or what but Adie knows Peter is Spider-Man now haha. Spider-Man was the only one she told about Uncle Ben's killer and she put two and two together...**


	55. Chapter 52

**A/N: Okay so today I realized how greedy people are. Well, technically, yesterday.**

 **Sony and Disney: money**

 ***insert huge eye roll* If they quit Tom Holland, istg they got another thing coming. They better figure their issues out before I knock on their door. They have no idea how much I love that man and his character. Seriously. Can't be just me...**

 **ANYway Tadelaide (that sounds funny lmao) moments to make you cry because they're both just so damn cute and I love writing them. And I know this chapter is short, but like sUsPenSe so ya know,.**

 **Fun fact. I rewrote this first scene three times. Fun for you, not so much for me.**

 _ **MarvelousM10: You're absolutely right! Peter's vision is clouded with vengeance, but sooner or later character development will kick in and he'll become the Peter Parker we know and love now...death makes people do crazy things :(**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: Hmm, SpideyPhantom...I like it! If the last chapter broke your heart, this one will...well, incinerate it? Sorry in advance lol.**_

 **Thank you to: _MarvelousM10, Thebookworm33, and Skyezee_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! **

* * *

_"Yes._ _I order you to forgive me."_

* * *

They were sitting across from each other at the island, in the kitchen, unmoving. It was silent as if someone had pressed the pause button in their movie.

Adelaide was too afraid to look the billionaire in the eye.

"Adie," he said, softly breaking the silence and she was suddenly reminded of the first time he had coined the nickname. Had it only been a year? She swore it felt much longer.

 _What's your name again, kid?_

 _Adelaide._

 _Uh, yeah, no. Too long. Can I call you Adie? I'm gonna call you Adie_.

"Tell me."

She could see the exhaustion around his eyes. It was taking a toll on both of them. The feeling overwhelmed her and she felt her face heating up with an unwanted emotion. She couldn't do this right now. It was all too much. She felt like her brain was melting.

"I can't," she finally said and she heard him sigh.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong," he said, rubbing his face, "You've been miserable for a month now. You gotta let it out."

"I'm fine," she mumbled, sliding off the stool, "I'm going to bed." She needed to be alone right now to process whatever it was that had happened back at Peter's apartment. All those hours on the streets hadn't been enough. The shock was still running through her system. She wasn't sure if she felt like crying or screaming or both. But she was out of tears and energy and she couldn't do either.

She didn't know how much longer she could do this. Every time things felt like they were going right, they messed up. Again and again and again. Why didn't the universe want her to be happy?

How much more suffering did she owe this world?

 _Because of you, he might have killed other innocent people!_

 _Damn it, you just – argh! I can't even look at you!_

"Adie," he called out after her and she stopped without turning around. For a moment, Tony said nothing and silence filled the penthouse again.

"Please don't push me away," he finally said, "I'm here."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, looking into his eyes. The dark rings around them. The fading smile wrinkles. A couple of gray hairs. He looked so broken and Adelaide wished that she could fix him.

Worst of all, he looked lonely. So so lonely.

Adelaide suddenly wanted to take all of his problems away. Even if she couldn't be happy, he deserved to. If anyone did, it was him. She couldn't take his burdens away, but she could make carrying them a little easier.

She found her feet moving towards the billionaire.

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his shirt and holding him as if he was the only thing holding her down in this chaotic world. And maybe he was. With everything falling apart, he had always been there – the only constant in her life. He let out a content sigh, feeling some life returning to him and embraced her back, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I know," she said softly, nuzzling into his shirt and he hugged her closer, "And I'm here for you too."

He kissed the top of her head briefly before resting his chin there again.

"I know," he said quietly, swallowing, "I know."

Adelaide didn't know what she would do without Tony Stark but she was glad that she didn't have to wonder.

* * *

Peter was Spider-Man.

Peter Parker was _the_ Spider-Man.

It had been two days and Adelaide still couldn't believe it. The one on Youtube and the one who was famous for all the crime he had stopped in Queens. The one who had helped her with her math homework. The one who had tried to make her happy when she was sad. The one who was obsessed with Tony. The one who had lost his Uncle. The one who thought she was dating Ned. The one who...who had _kissed_ her. The one who swung all the way to Manhattan every night just to talk to her. Her _best friend_.

She couldn't believe it. She thought she had finally lost her mind and gone crazy. It was so...unexpected. How could the same Peter Parker that she knew be _Spider-Man_?

It had come crashing down on her only a few hours ago this morning as her mind finally caught up with the recent events. After the initial shock had subsided, the realization had hit her like a train.

All this time, Peter, the dorky, victim of Flash's bullying had been _goddamn Spider-Man_. And she didn't even know it.

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy _shit_.

He really _was_ Spider-Man.

All the signs had been there from the beginning, she just hadn't seen them.

 _Can you tell me where you live, at least?_

 _Queens_.

And the night of the science fair. She had seen Spider-Man on the news, saving a bank from being robbed and saving the lives of two people that night. He hadn't just stood them up, he was Spider-Man.

It wasn't Spider-Man who had saved her life that night either, it was Peter. Her Peter Parker.

 _Come on. I won't drop you_. _Closer_.

An image of him reaching out to grab a hold of her flashed in her mind. She remembered it with painstaking accuracy.

And the night that he had told her to forgive Peter. It should make her angry that he cheated and tricked her into forgiving him, but she wasn't angry. Far from it.

 _I think you should forgive him...I mean he probably misses you too._

Adelaide felt ashamed for getting so angry with him. And, most of all, she felt stupid. So, so stupid.

 _Just get out – get out of my life! I don't ever want to see you again!_

Adelaide bit her lip. It was too late for regrets now. He hated her for what she had done and he probably would never want to talk to her again. This was _Uncle Ben_ they were talking about! He loved Uncle Ben and maybe she had been wrong to have stepped in that night and make his decision for him. She had really, _really_ messed up this time.

And, of course, as she was sitting there in the library (they had finished construction), Monday after school, waiting for her math tutor, it was Peter who walked through the door. He hadn't seen her yet so she contemplated leaving before he did, but she found that she was frozen in her seat, watching him as if this would be the last time she would get to see him.

 _Well, since you two are so close, I just thought that maybe you were together_.

He was slipping away from her by the minute, she could feel it. His hair with the little curl that always fell into his eyes. His eyes. The shade of the most honest brown that she had ever seen. The little wrinkle by the corner of his lips when he was thinking hard. He was getting further and further away.

And then she saw the redness in his eyes, his nose which was slightly red, the heartbreak on his face. She had broken his trust and trust was one of the most delicate things in the world. Would she ever get it back?

When he saw her sitting there, he stopped walking, his lips parting. For a heartbeat, Peter forgot that he was mad at this blue-eyed girl sitting there in front of him. It had been a month since everything had messed up between them and he missed her like crazy. But what she did...He pressed his lips together in a very thin line, feeling as angry as he had two days ago at his apartment.

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you again," he hissed quietly and Adelaide felt like she had been slapped in the face.

"You're Spider-Man," she whispered, not realizing what she said until she heard the words herself. Saying them out loud, especially to Peter, made the statement seem much more plausible. Spider-Man was standing in front of her. She wondered who else knew. Did Ned? Or May? Had Ben? How long had he been Spider-Man? How did he go from Peter Parker to Spider-Man? She had so many questions she didn't know which to ask first.

"I didn't tell you that because I wanted to," he said, glaring at her.

Suddenly, she didn't care that Peter was Spider-Man.

He was her best friend first — had been for over a year now — and all she knew was that she missed him like hell.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, but the cold look in his brown eyes didn't soften. She hadn't expected them to. What she had done couldn't be forgiven with only a sorry. What she had done was much, much worse than all the things he had done to anger her in the past. The guilt was weighing her down, trying to take her under.

"Sorry doesn't bring my uncle his justice," he snapped and Adelaide tried to swallow the tears that were surfacing. She wanted to reach out to him, hug him, but she couldn't move. Her lower lip trembled.

"I know," she whispered, "And I feel terrible. I shouldn't have stopped you that night. Please don't do this, let me make it up to you. _Please_."

Her heart began hammering in her chest. She was begging him to stay, to forgive her. He was her best friend. She couldn't let him walk away. This wasn't how things were supposed to end.

Things weren't supposed to end between them.

 _Well, since you two are so close, I just thought that maybe you were together_.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head, turned around and walked away, leaving her by herself in the library with a million unanswered questions.

And maybe she deserved it.

* * *

At long last, Thursday had arrived.

Adelaide felt like literal hell. She had felt it. Peter was drifting away from her.

He wasn't just angry at her. He wanted nothing to do with her ever again. She knew that there was nothing that she could do or say to change his mind. She wanted him to yell at her, to be angry, but there was nothing. He had just...let go. All that time they had spent together, the laughter, the homework, and even the kiss...it was over. He had given up. It was too late for anything except tears.

And the thought of her life without Peter broke her heart.

Pepper had been furious that Adelaide had been wandering around the city all alone especially as it was getting dark. But before the teenager had had a chance to apologize, the woman had jumped to conclusions and ended up blaming herself for Adelaide's reckless behavior. Eventually, she had been able to convince Pepper that it was not her fault and that she had just needed some time to think. Pepper understood (after showering her with a million questions) and calmed down.

Adelaide had told her about Peter (not about his secret identity, of course) because she told Pepper all things Peter-related, but Pepper seemed to think that Peter was wrongfully mad and that she had done the right thing. Adelaide still didn't know what to think of the situation.

Regardless of who was right, Adelaide was just grateful that Pepper wasn't upset with her. She didn't think she could take the guilt of another person being angry with her.

As for Tony, she still wasn't exactly sure where he stood with her. He had been less talkative than before but he didn't seem mad. She was surprised that he hadn't pressed her about why he found her crying on the streets.

For five days, the billionaire had given her space, but sitting here, in his Maserati, on the way to the compound, there wasn't much space he could give her and _Jailbreak_ wasn't serving as the best ice breaker.

She reached out, turning the volume down. Tony kept his eyes on the road.

"You're mad," she stated, watching his expressions.

"I'm not mad," he replied and she sighed.

"You haven't asked me about that night at all," she said, turning in her seat to face him, "You've barely talked to me. You're acting very...un-Tony."

"I..." he started and then sighed, shaking his head before trying again, "I'm not mad at _you_."

This wasn't the answer Adelaide had been expecting at all. "Then?"

"I should have paid more attention to you," he sighed and Adelaide rolled her eyes, falling back into her seat.

"God, you and Pepper are the same," she groaned and he looked at her with a small smile. "Quit blaming yourselves and forgive me already."

"But I'm not mad," he said, glancing at her again. She looked at him.

"You've barely talked to me for a week."

"I was giving you space. You'll talk to me when you're ready," he nodded, seemingly convincing himself. He had to be a little upset. What kind of person didn't get upset when they found their teenager crying on the streets with no explanations? He was so calm it was unsettling.

"You should be pestering me with questions. You know, like you always do."

"Oh, so you're _telling_ me to be annoying?" he asked with a small smile.

"I'm _telling_ you to be normal," she said, exasperated.

"Is that an order?" he asked, glancing at her with his signature playboy smile. She rolled her eyes again.

"Yes. I order you to forgive me," she said.

Tony looked ahead again. A moment later, he reached out, changing the song to one of her favorites and Adelaide grinned.

 _"Living easy, living free. Season ticket on a one-way ride..."_

Her grin widened, feeling a weight being lifted off her shoulders. They were okay.

* * *

 **A/N: Welp. A lot of things happened...Padie is taking a break just like Pepperony. I just realize how eerily similar their relationships are...they even take breaks at the same time lmao.**

 ** _Question: What's your favorite relationship in this story?_**

 ** _Mine is Adie and Tony because they're so adorable together and they both deserve better and it's just so sad cause Adie doesn't realize it but she needs Tony to be her dad and Tony doesn't realize it but he needs Adie to be his daughter and it just gets sadder but I don't want to spoil the next few chapters *starts sobbing*_**

 **Side note: I just realized that 10 chapters ago, they were still making the hoverboard in Ned's garage fighting over what music to play...So much has happened...**


	56. Chapter 53

**A/N: So I finally watched 13 Going On 30 (I'm late, I know) and Jennifer Garner and Mark were sooooo cuteeeeee. Mark really fits the role of the cute awkward type and honestly I miss movies like that where there's no big dramas and perfect happy endings. The 2000's were really something else :,) and the 2010's sucked for the most part.**

 **Anyway, I need to rant real quick. Just skip to the next paragraph if you don't wanna hear it.**

 ***rant starts***

 **Okay so college. I thought it sucked but then it started to suck even more? So I signed up for this Intro to Networking class cause why not. Btw I've never taken any computer classes before so my knowledge bar is like at 0. Anyway, then I buy the online access code for the homework which was crazy expensive and non-refundable btw and I start the first video in the moule and what does it say?**  
 **"You should have nine months of networking experience and basic hardware knowledge."**  
 **LIKE WTF? WHY WOULD YOU CALL IT "INTRO" IF I NEEDED PRIOR EXPERIENCE? Ughhhhh.**  
 **So anyway, college has started and in case y'all were wondering, I had a mental breakdown on my first day back. Yay me. I think I might start keeping track of how many breakdowns I have this semester like a tally or something. Idk.**

 **Update: I took some good pictures today (as a non-photogenic person, this is a high achievement) and suddenly my life is better again.**

 ***rant over***

 **Anyway, the more I watch Civil War, the more I realize that I am team Steve. Sorry, Tony, still love you tho. You will get to see which side Adie will be on butttt it's gonna become a whole lot more complicated than sides pretty soon. ;)**

 _ **Thebookworm33: Sorry! But things are literally gonna get even worse so...but luckily this chapter is mostly just Civil War stuff so there's not too much sadness this time :)**_

 _ **lizlil: Yeahh, I was considering Adie telling Tony the truth, but then I decided against it and you'll see soon why :(**_

 _ **MarvelousM10: THANK YOU! YOU'RE AWESOME FOR LEAVING SUCH NICE REVIEWSS!**_

 **Thank you to: _ILoveFairlytaleEndings, Slashxii, kyoshawdow4star, Thebookworm33, lizlil, and MarvelousM10 for either following favoriting or leaving review! I almost love you guys as much as I love Tom Holland. Almost. :D_**

* * *

 _"Mission report. December 16, 1991."_

* * *

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack and dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass...I found something that 40 years in the army never taught me. Perspective."

The Avengers were not entertained.

They were sitting around the conference table, at the compound, while Ross lectured them like a class full of students who had misbehaved during recess. Adelaide was sitting on the sofa, away from all of them, on her phone, pretending she wasn't listening.

 _Peter, please call me back._

 _We can talk this over._

 _Please give me another chance._

 _I'm so sorry for what I did._

 _I know you don't want to talk_ _to me but, please just give_ _me a chance to explain._

 _Please don't do this._

 _I can't lose you._

 _I don't know what to do._

 _Can we please work this out?_

 _At least give me a chance_ _to explain why I did_ _what I did._

Adelaide sighed, looking up from her phone. That was only a few of the million messages she had sent him. Not to mention the million voicemails that she had filled his voicemail box with.

" _Peter, I know you probably hate me and never want to talk to me again. And I-I know messed up, but can't we move on from this? I don't know what to do without you. You're my best friend. And I'm a pretty shitty friend for what I did to you but I don't know what else to do than say sorry. If it makes you feel any better, if I could go back in time, I wouldn't have stopped you. I know I deserve this for what I did, but...I miss you, Peter. Please talk to me...Please."_

Not that he had responded to anything. She knew that she deserved it, but she was selfish enough to want him to forgive her. What would her life be like without Peter?

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt," the secretary of state continued, pulling the teenager out of her thoughts, "You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives...but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some, who would prefer the word...vigilantes."

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asked politely in a way that only she could.

"How about 'dangerous'?" Ross said, "What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals, who routinely ignore sovereign borders, and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?

The silence was overbearing.

Adelaide tried to catch Tony's eye across the room, but he wasn't looking at her. There was something about his expression that didn't settle with her. However, Steve caught her eye and offered her a reassuring smile which she returned.

Ross started to play a clip on the hologram.

"New York," he said as if they couldn't tell. Adelaide couldn't remember where she had seen the footage before, but she knew had seen it.

"Washington D.C.," he said, changing the clip. Adelaide glanced at Sam who was wincing and she bit her lip. Why was Ross showing this? What the hell did he want from them?

"Sokovia," Ross said and she felt a pang in her chest as the sound of screams filled the room. Adelaide covered her mouth, rubbing her face. Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she remembered all the times she had visited that country in her nightmares. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Thankfully, Ross changed it again.

"Lagos," he said and Adelaide saw some of the same footage she had seen on the news. She swallowed, looking away.

"Okay," Steve said, glancing at Wanda, "That's enough."

Ross nodded and turned it off. Adelaide let out a quiet breath of relief.

"For the past four years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision," Ross started and Adelaide had a feeling they weren't going to like where this was going, "That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution."

The dark-skinned man standing beside Ross handed him a fat white book.

"The Sokovia Accords," he said, handing it to Wanda, "Approved by 117 countries. It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

 _Something about the UN having a power complex._

And it suddenly made sense. The UN wanted to control the Avengers. No more hear the sirens and go running.

The earth's mightiest heroes only when and if the panel deemed it necessary.

It was almost laughable, but 117 countries seemed to believe otherwise. Sokovia crumbling to pieces flashed in her mind and she found her mind reeling, trying to decide how she felt about this.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place," Steve argued, "I feel we've done that."

"Tell me Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross asked, "If I misplaced a of 30 megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies?" Rhodey asked.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the accords," Ross said. She tried to catch Tony's eye again but he was looking at Steve. Adelaide couldn't figure out what either of the two were thinking.

"Talk it over," Ross said and the words hung in the air like a death sentence as he left the room.

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha asked, stopping him. She had read the teenager's mind. Ross looked at the assassin with a small smile.

"Then you retire," he said simply.

* * *

 _CLEVELAND, OHIO_

It started with an accidental car crash in someone's front lawn.

"Hell0?" the driver said, looking at the crash scene. He glanced at the house to see if the owner was home. "Is this your car out front?"

"I jumped the curb," he explained, walking up to the door, "Maybe we could take care of it ourselves. If you wanna call the cops, that's okay too, I guess."

"No," the man inside the house said. He could see a silhouette of someone standing outside his door and he glanced at the gun resting on a pile of newspapers on the floor. "No cops."

"Thank you," came his reply. Hesitantly, the man undid the locks, opening the door.

Instantly, someone punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

"You've kept your looks, Colonel," Zemo said as he flipped through all the files and folders Karpov had hidden in his house, "Congratulations."

Karpov was hanging upside down, the top of his head just barely dipping in water. There was a steady stream of water coming from a small faucet beside him.

"Mission report. December 16, 1991," Zemo said.

"Who are you?" Karpov said.

"My name is Zemo," he answered. It didn't matter if a dead man knew his name. "I will repeat my question. Mission report, December 16, 1991,"

"How did you find me?" Karpov asked.

"When SHIELD fell," Zemo started, "Black Widow released HYDRA files to the public. Millions of pages. Much of it encrypted, not easy to decipher. But, I have experience...and patience. A man can do anything if he has those."

"What do you want?"

Zemo gritted his teeth. "Mission report. December 16, 1991."

"Go...to...hell!" Karpov shouted. Zemo walked over to the man hanging upside down and leaned over him. He turned the faucet off.

"HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap," he said, "So your death would not bother me. But I'd have to use this book and other bloodier methods to find what I need. I don't look forward to that. You'd only be dying for...your pride."

Karpov said nothing.

Nodding in understanding, Zemo reached over and turned on the little faucet of water that fed a steady stream to the bucket under the agent.

" _Hail HYDRA_."

* * *

"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal Of Honor," Rhodey said to Sam, "Which is one more than you have."

When Ross had said _talk it over_ , Adelaide had known it wouldn't end well. But this was only giving her a massive headache. Tony was laying down on a chaise lounge, covering his face with his hand as if that would drown the voices out. Vision and Wanda were sitting on the other chaise lounge. Adelaide was sharing a sofa with Nat while Sam and Rhodey argued behind the one seater Steve was sitting in, actually taking the effort to read the accords.

"So let's say we agree to this thing," Sam said and Adelaide sighed, "How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?"

"117 countries wanna sign this," Rhodey argued, "117 Sam, and you're just like 'No that's cool. We got it.'"

Adelaide shared a look with Natasha.

"How long are you gonna play both sides?" Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have an equation," Vision interrupted loudly.

"Oh here we go," Adelaide muttered under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose and Natasha smirked at her.

"Oh," Sam breathed sarcastically, "Oh this will clear it up."

Vision ignored him.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. During the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

Steve looked up from the accords, "Are you saying it's our fault?"

"I'm saying there may be a causality," Vision said, "Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict…breeds catastrophe. Oversight… Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom," Rhodey told Sam and Adelaide glanced at him.

"Tony," Natasha said, looking at the billionaire, "You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal." She had once again read the teenager's mind.

"It's because he's already made up his mind," Steve noted.

"Boy, you know me so well," Tony grunted as he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck, "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache."

Everyone watched him as he walked into the kitchen to make coffee as if their conference with Ross had never happened and they were enjoying each other's company over a tea party.

"That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" he asked, turning to face them again. He placed his phone in the fruit basket and tapped it, causing a hologram to appear for all of them to see.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way," he said, "He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA...Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where. Sokovia."

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass," he spat, popping a pill into his mouth. Adelaide swallowed, looking away. The room was silent, no one was arguing anymore.

"There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys."

Tony was right. She wasn't a part of the Avengers, but she had been there, in Sokovia. What was she doing when Charlie Spencer died? Was she running for her own life? Had she killed someone without knowing it that day?

"Tony," Steve started, "someone dies on your watch, you don't give up."

"Who said we're giving up?"

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames," Steve argued. Adelaide pulled her lips in, staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry. Steve," Rhodey started, "That...That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA."

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change," he argued.

"That's _good_ ," Tony said, walking over to them again, "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing." Adelaide looked to Natasha to see what she was thinking but she couldn't read the expression on her face.

"Tony, you _chose_ to do that," Steve said, "If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

Were they really? Adelaide didn't think that Charlie Spencer's parents would think the same. There were 117 countries that believed otherwise. Was Steve right or were they just being arrogant? Adelaide looked to the hologram again. There it was – proof that they weren't as safe as they believed themselves to be.

"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to _us_ later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty," Tony said.

"You're saying they'll come for me," Wanda spoke up.

"We would protect you," Vision replied, as if it would be that easy. If only there was a hard right and wrong here.

"Maybe Tony's right," Natasha suddenly said and everyone looked at her in surprise, "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off -"

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam interrupted.

"I'm just… I'm reading the terrain. We have made… some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back," she said.

"Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just...mishear you or did you agree with me?" Tony said, leaning on the armrest behind the teenager. Natasha shared a look with the teenager.

"Oh, I want to take it back now," she said, shaking her head.

"No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed - I win," Tony said, standing upright again.

"I have to go," Steve suddenly said, standing up and everyone silently watched him as he marched out of the room without any explanation.

* * *

 **A/N: Civil is in fulllllll speed now. Things will happen. People will be hated (mostly me lol). Plot twists will happen.**

 **So since college started, I'm already crazy busy and I haven't been able to write in days (it feels like weeks *cries*) BUT lucky for you guys I have it written out all the way to Chapter 58 and you have 5 weeks until I run out of material or until I find time to write another chapter. Most of you know how my updates get once college starts so...yeah, just be aware of that cause it's gonna happen soon unfortunately :((**

 **Btw, don't hate on Adie for feeling guilty about the Peter thing just yet. Just keep your faith in me, I won't let y'all down ;)**

 ** _Question: Team Cap or Team Tony?_**

 ** _ALSO. THREE MORE WEEKS UNTIL ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ADIE WILL BE REVEALEDDDDDDDDD_**


	57. Chapter 54

**A/N: A very short chapter but it's here to set up the next few chapters so bear with me :)**

 **So I've caught a small cold which is making me procrastinate big time because suddenly 'I don't feel like it' is a valid excuse. Anyway, I'm really falling behind on writing these chapters cause I've been super busy (and lazy) lately, but I'm gonna try and see if I can catch up this weekend *fingers crossed***

 _ **MarvelousM10: Haha thank you so much for such a nice review! And I'm glad this story is making your Wednesdays better :)**_

 _ **Thebookworm33: It's so amazing that you're working on a playlist for this! I've made one but it has only a few songs on it. I think one of the problems I had was that some songs fit for later on in the story and might end up being spoilers...oops**_

 _ **627-OrganizedChaos: Alll of your questions about Adie will be answered in Chapter 56 ;) Also, I know Peter can seem like he's being frustrating rn bc, I mean, they JUST got back together and then he had to go mess it up, but he'll eventually realized his mistake, just not soon :) About my class...well, it turns out, that I don't actually**_ **need _9 months experience and my professor decided to tell me that AFTER I had a mental breakdown lmao but the class is going much more smoothly now!_**

 ** _xlucylae: I'm so glad you like it and it's always nice to hear that someone binge read it haha_**

 **Thank you to: _tzu753, xlucylae, MarvelousM10, Thebookworm33, lizlil, and 627-OrganizedChaos for either following/favoriting or leaving a review!_**

* * *

 _"Even if the whole world is_

 _telling you to move...it is your duty to_

 _plant yourself like a tree,_

 _look them in they eye and say_

 _'No, you move.'"_

* * *

There were two days until the UN conference in Vienna. Tony, Rhodey, Nat, and Vision had already signed the accords. Adelaide would have too if she could. She hoped that Steve and the others would come around eventually. She didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't. Retirement? What would the Avengers be without Steve?

However, at the moment, while Tony was gone conducting business with Ross, Adelaide was at the compound with Vision and Wanda. She had decided to use a particular resource to help her locate Lukov. Even after all these months since Graves had induced a fear into her, she hadn't been able to rest. With Tony gone and FRIDAY alone, she thought she could use the AI to do a little digging and maybe even get her mind off of the accords.

"Anything?" she asked, coming to stand beside the hologram.

 _"Moscow,"_ FRIDAY finally said, _"I found a plane ticket. He was there a few weeks ago but..."_

Adelaide's breath hitched in her throat. That was a real place. She finally had a location on him.

"But?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

 _"That was a few weeks ago,"_ she said, _"Now, I don't where he could be."_

She let out a breath, slamming the table with her hand. Of course. Every time they were closing in, something always happened. It was as if not only did Lukov want to keep information from her, but so did the universe.

 _"But..."_ FRIDAY started. Adelaide looked up, frowning.

"More bad news?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

 _"Actually,"_ she said, changing her form again. An image of Lukov appeared, along with information that she already knew. _"Lukov was Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, correct?"_

"Yeah..." she said, not sure where she was going with this, "But he's retired and no one's seen him since."

 _"Even retired ministers have expectations,"_ she said and Adelaide could somehow hear a smile in her voice. She looked at the AI's hologram, studying the face of the man on there that had seemingly ruined her life. _"And as the minister of foreign affairs, he will be expected to make an appearance at the conference."_

"I don't think that Lukov cares about what's _expected_ of him," she scoffed. If he did, then he would have never bothered with her in the first place.

 _"What can you lose?"_ she said and the image of Lukov disappeared. Adelaide stared at the floor, biting the inside of her cheek.

The words echoed in her head. FRIDAY was right. She had nothing to lose. So she went to Vienna and if he wasn't there, then it would be no big deal. She would just come right back home, not having moved backwards or forwards.

"So you're saying that I, a teenager, should go to the United Nations conference in Vienna by myself?" Adelaide asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a frown.

 _"What could go wrong?"_ she asked mischievously.

* * *

"What are you watching?" Pepper asked, coming to sit beside the teenager on the floor. Adelaide didn't like sitting on the sofa. Well, more specifically, the sofa at Pepper's place. It felt...strange. So she sat on the rug with a blanket and some pillows and lots of buttery popcorn.

"Pulp Fiction," Adelaide answered, scooting over to make room for her to sit. The teenager glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's late, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"No, _mom_ ," Pepper teased, "I can decide when I want to sleep."

Adelaide rolled her eyes, "Suit yourself."

They both quietly watched the movie for a while, enjoying each other's company. For the time being, the compound was chaos. With the accords and the conference, there was no room for calm. However, Pepper's place felt like the eye of the storm. No chaos, no accords, no conference, no Lukov. If she ignored the fact that they weren't in the Tower, Adelaide could almost pretend that it was like old times.

"How are things with Peter?" Pepper asked, her eyes still watching the tv.

"It's over," Adelaide sighed, "He hates me and I don't blame him."

"You really believe it's over?" Pepper asked, glancing at her. Adelaide swallowed.

"He can't even _look_ at me," she said quietly, her voice breaking.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out better," Pepper said after a while. Adelaide took in a shaky breath.

"I'm leaving for Vienna tomorrow," Adelaide said, her eyes still on the tv. Pepper glanced at her again.

"For the UN conference?" she asked, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her arms on them.

"Yeah," Adelaide said, taking in another deep breath.

 _And to find that son of a bitch, Lukov._

He was the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has to be at the conference. She had been repeating it like a mantra in her mind. She was seemingly convincing herself, but it was the last string of hope she had. Singlehandedly, she couldn't capture him. Especially not in broad daylight. But the least she could ask for was a confrontation. And if he refused to compromise, then Natasha was going to be there with her at the conference anyway. She knew she could trust that woman to keep a secret if she needed her to.

She would find him after the conference and she hoped that upon seeing her, he would agree to talking with her. Just one conversation was all she needed.

That was, if he came out of hiding and showed up in the first place. And that was a big if.

If he wasn't there, then she would come back home empty handed, like usual. No steps forward or backward. But the plan had to work. It had do.

"Adelaide..." Pepper sighed, resting her hand over the teenager's, "I don't think it's a good idea."

It took her a moment to realize that she was talking about going to Vienna, not talking to Lukov.

"But I already have my ticket," she argued. Pepper let out a small laugh.

"Well, since you've already made up your mind," Pepper said, giving her a small smile. Adelaide looked at her again, squeezing her hand slightly.

"You know me so well," Adelaide grinned.

"Because you're just like him," Pepper smiled.

"It's the Stark genes," Adelaide said and they both laughed.

Suddenly, Adelaide's phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, glancing at the caller ID. It was Nat. But what was she calling for at this hour?

"Hey Nat, is everything okay?" she asked. A beat passed in silence. Adelaide shared a worried look with Pepper. Adelaide's heartbeat sped up.

"Natasha?"

 _"It's Steve."_

* * *

 _LONDON_

Whatever Adelaide had expected her week to consist of, it had not included seeing Captain America cry.

Margaret Peggy Carter had passed away.

Adelaide stood at the back of the church, with Natasha as Steve and the other pallbearers carried the casket into the church. Her heart broke at the sight of Steve walking up the aisle. He might be Captain America, but this weight on his shoulders was probably the heaviest he had ever carried. She couldn't even imagine what he was suffering through at the moment.

She didn't know Peggy, but she knew that Peggy was one of the few people who was still alive from Steve's old life. No one knew how it felt to be asleep for 70 years and wake up to a whole new world where everyone you knew was gone. Of course he loved Peggy.

"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words," the priest said. A woman that Adelaide didn't recognize stepped up behind the podium.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD...but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy," Sharon started, "She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related."

Adelaide smiled.

"I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move..." Sharon said, now looking at Steve who was sitting in the first row, "it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say 'No, you move.'"

As her words sunk in to the teenager's mind, Adelaide realized that, maybe, somehow, Peggy was right.

If you didn't believe in yourself, who would?

* * *

Natasha had the teenager wait outside after the church had cleared out so she could talk to Steve. Maybe convince him to come with her and sign. Who was she kidding. It could never be that easy.

As she walked into the church, she found Steve standing at the front with his hands in his pockets. He looked...defeated. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps and sighed, dropping his head. The assassin came to stand beside him with a small smile.

"When I came out of the ice," Steve started, looking away as he pulled his lips in, "I thought everyone I had known was gone...Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her."

"She had you back, too," Natasha said softly and Steve smiled, shaking his head at the floor.

"Who else signed?" he asked, knowing why she was here.

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision."

"Clint?" he asked.

"Says he's retired," she answered with a small smile.

"Wanda?"

"TBD," she answered and a heartbeat of silence passed between them, "I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet."

Steve sighed, staring at the floor. Natasha watched him, studying his expression.

"Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together," she tried. Would he give in? Was she strong enough to see them fall apart? Not just anyone. This was her family. She couldn't give up on them.

"What are we giving up to do it?" Steve asked and the assassin sighed, understanding.

"I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it," Steve said softly, shaking his head. Natasha nodded slowly.

"I know," she said, making the super soldier look up.

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked. Natasha looked at him and she hoped that he could see in her expression what she couldn't put into words.

"I didn't want you to be alone," she said, smiling for a second and shrugging. She held her arms out, pulling him in for a hug. "Come here."

Regardless of which side they were on, family was still family.

* * *

 **A/N:** **I really really love Steve and Nat's relationship. They both deserved so much better. Especially Nat. Still not over what happened to my queen.**

 **TWO MORE WEEKS UNTIL CHAPTER 56! It's deadass just going to be a chapter with literally her memories lmao but I'm so excited!**

 ** _Question: Favorite character in the mcu?_**


	58. Chapter 55

**A/N: IT'S ALMOST HERE IT'S ALMOST HERE THE BIG REVEAL IS ALMOST HEREEEEEE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

 **Seriously, tho it's 12 and I'm tired so no reviews today :(**

* * *

 _"To give you your memories back."_

* * *

 _VIENNA_

 _NIGHT BEFORE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE_

 _Adelaide was back at the broken building where Peter had almost killed a man. She was standing in the same place she had been that night. She looked down at her hands, which were covered in blood. Uncle Ben's blood._

 _"Did you give my uncle another chance!" Peter shouted, making her look up._

 _He had the man by the throat but it wasn't the same man from that night. It was Graves. And Peter was about to kill him. Adelaide found herself surprised that she wanted Peter to kill him._

 _However, just as she had suspected, Graves became invisible and slipped away from Peter's grasp._

 _But she was forced to watch as the man with the eyepatch who was still visible to her grab the gun off of the floor. Horrified, she watched as he aimed it at the back of Peter's head._

 _Peter was paying for her mistakes. And there was nothing she could do to stop it._

 _Graves pulled the trigger and Peter fell over, blood oozing out from his head. A strangled scream escaped her throat as she fell to her knees. She couldn't even reach out and hold him._

 _Her demons had finally caught up to her and they had gotten Peter._

 _She had lost him._

Adelaide sat up, drenched in sweat. She swallowed, trying to ease the burn in her throat. She was safe. She was in a hotel room and Natasha was sleeping in the room right beside hers. It was okay. She let out a shaky breath before standing up to get some water. As she was walking towards the kitchen, she glanced at her phone.

Maybe she should try to call him again. Would it go to voicemail? She decided to call him just to calm herself down. He was okay. She was just overreacting. It had only been a nightmare. He was fine.

 _"Adelaide?"_ someone said, picking up the phone. It sounded like May. And she sounded absolutely terrified.

"May?" she said, her heartbeat picking up,"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

 _"I-It's Peter,"_ she cried, _"A man came in a few minutes ago. H-He was wearing an eyepatch. A-And he h-had a gun. He sh-shot him, Adelaide. He shot Peter. I-In the b-back of h-his head."_

No.

 _No_.

No, this wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Not to her. Not to Peter.

No no no no no. Peter. She had lost Peter. Was this really happening? She couldn't have lost Peter. Not him. No. No way.

 _"Th-The man said he was g-getting even with-with...you. He killed Peter,"_ May whispered.

 _He killed Peter_.

Adelaide woke up with a loud gasp. Her breathing quickened until she was fully panicking. Her ears were ringing and she pressed her hands against them, trying to stop it. A scream died in her throat as her eyes pricked with tears.

She grabbed her throat, trying to breathe. Dream. It was only a dream. Shit, this wasn't working. Water. She needed water. Adelaide stumbled off of the bed and into the kitchen, trying to pour herself a glass of water. She did eventually after she spilled half of it.

Gasping for air, she leaned against the countertop, forcing herself to keep the water down. As the cold air rushed into her lungs, she began coughing until her throat felt raw and she couldn't cough again.

Trying to take deep breaths, she slid down onto the floor, her back flat against the cabinets. She forced herself to finish the rest of the water in her glass. When it was empty, she tossed it aside and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

Why did this always happen to her? Why did she always get these horrible nightmares? She would rather watch herself die a million times than see someone else dying. Like Peter.

She wanted to call him. She wanted to make sure he was okay. But she was too scared that May would pick up the phone and tell her that Graves had killed Peter.

Adelaide rubbed her face, pulling at her hair which was matted to her forehead with sweat. She pulled her knees up, resting her forehead on them. She was burning up and this cold tile floor felt so good.

She sat there for a very long time, enjoying the silence as she stared ahead at nothing. She could hear the clock ticking steadily. A car passed by on the street. The air conditioner was humming softly by her bed. She could hear her breath as she inhaled and exhaled slowly.

Just when she had finally calmed down, her ringing phone ripped through the silence.

She lifted her head up, looking over at her vibrating phone on the bedside table. Her lips parted and she swallowed, her throat feeling dry once again. Each ring felt like a needle in her ear and she stood up when she couldn't take it any more. She didn't think that she could handle it if it was May calling. Adelaide truly believed that she would lose her mind.

But, to her relief or fear, the Caller ID read _Unknown_ and so did the location.

She hesitated.

Should she pick it up? It could very easily be a wrong number or simply advertisers. But there was the chance that it wasn't.

She glanced around the hotel room. She was the only one here. Natasha was sleeping one wall over and although this hotel building wasn't as safe as the Tower, there was still tight security. Against better judgement, she decided to answer the call.

With shaky hands, she picked up the phone and held it up to her ear.

"H-Hello?" she whispered, her voice sounding as if she hadn't used it in days.

 _"Don't hang up,"_ came Graves' voice and Adelaide almost dropped the phone, the air knocked out of her lungs, _"Do not tell anyone about this phone call, Rivers or you will regret it."_

There was a pause.

 _"I only have one thing to say to you. Whatever you do, do_ not _go to the UN conference tomorrow,"_ he said.

Then he hung up the phone without any further explanation.

* * *

 _UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE_

 _THE NEXT MORNING_

"Hey Blue. Nervous?" Natasha asked, approaching the teenager.

"Always," Adelaide answered, nervously looking around the room. Graves had warned her to not go to the conference. But why? What was going to happen? What did he know? Did that mean Lukov was going to be here?

"Don't be," the assassin said, taking a sip from her water bottle. Adelaide was sure that if she ate anything it would come right back up. "You have me."

"Things always tend to...mess up," Adelaide said, taking in a shaky breath. Should she tell her about the phone call? Natasha put a hand on the teenager's shoulder to steady her.

 _Do not tell anyone about this phone call, Rivers or you will regret it._

"Worst case scenario, you die," Natasha said and Adelaide looked at her, "Pretty peaceful."

"Thanks," she mumbled. The assassin smirked, taking another sip of her water.

"I try," she shrugged.

Adelaide's eyes were trained on the tv, watching for the entrance of the former Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Dozens of people were coming but none of them were the man she was looking for.

Adelaide gritted her teeth. Even though Graves wasn't here, he was still messing with her head. And she was letting him. What if he had only called her to trick her into behaving a certain way? Was the phone call a part of his plan?

"Excuse me, Miss Romanoff?" a UN staffer said, causing the assassin to turn around.

"Yes?" she said.

"These need your signature," she said, handing her a pen and Natasha quickly signed it.

"Thank you," she said politely and walked away.

"I suppose neither of us is used to the spotlight," someone said from behind them, causing them to turn around. Adelaide's eyes widened and all thoughts of the phone call went out the window. Prince T'Challa of Wakanda. She was in the presence of royalty. The teenager wondered if she had to curtsy or something but the assassin wasn't so Adelaide stayed put.

"Oh, well, it's not always so flattering," Natasha said with a smile

"You seem to be doing alright so far. Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill...I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company," he said with an accent.

"Well, I'm not," Natasha said.

"That alone makes me glad you're here, Miss Romanoff," he said politely.

"Why? You don't approve of all this?"

"The Accords, yes," he said nodding, "The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred."

"Unless you need to move a piano," someone else said.

Holy _shit_.

Adelaide watched as the King of Wakanda came to stand beside her. She realized that she was slightly gaping and she closed her mouth. This week kept proving to be more and more surprising. What was next? An alien spaceship invasion? The sun rising from the west?

"Baba," T'Challa smiled, bowing his head respectfully. The King smiled back at him.

"Miss Romanoff," he said, turning to face her. He glanced at the teenager, offering her a polite smile. Adelaide hadn't realized that she was staring until Natasha elbowed her.

"A-Adelaide Rivers," she stuttered, "Your majesty."

The old man laughed heartily and the prince smiled.

"You may call me King T'Chaka, Miss Rivers," the King said, smiling. Adelaide nodded, feeling a hot red creeping up her neck in embarrassment.

"King T'Chaka," Natasha started, her expression sincere, "Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria."

Something on the tv caught her eye. A black car had just rolled up. First, a guard stepped out of the passenger seat. He looked around and said something into his walkie. She noticed the gun hooked to his waistband. Then, a driver stepped out and he hurried to open the car door behind him. Another man stepped out, his back to the cameras.

Adelaide held her breath. Could it be...?

And it was. It was Ivan Kazimir Lukov in the flesh. Adelaide was frozen. What was happening to her? Why was she panicking? Her breaths became shallower and it felt as if someone was stepping on her throat.

 _Whatever you do, do_ not _go to the UN conference tomorrow._

"...I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today," King T'Chaka said.

"Yes, so am I," the assassin said with a small smile, her eyes flickering to the teenager who looked like she was having a panic attack.

 _"If everyone could please be seated,"_ said someone on the speaker, _"This assembly is now in session."_

"That is the future calling," Prince T'Challa said, looking at Natasha, "Such a pleasure."

"Thank you," she replied, nodding at both men before walking away with the teenager. She pulled her into a secluded corner where no one was watching.

"What's going on?" she asked, watching the teenager worriedly. Adelaide swallowed, struggling to breath. She was having a full blown panic attack and she didn't know why. Her heart was beating wildly as if something bad were about to happen.

 _Whatever you do, do_ not _go to the UN conference tomorrow._

"I'm fine," she said, swallowing hard.

 _He was here._

* * *

Lukov was here. But he wasn't _here_. As in, in the conference room. She had seen him get out of the car, but she never saw him walk into the room. Why would he come to a UN conference but not come inside? It didn't make any sense. And if he wasn't here, then where did he go?

Natasha silently squeezed the teenager's hand, telling her to calm down. Adelaide squeezed her hand back, licking her dry lips. Her plan had to work. It had to. Graves was lying, she was sure of it.

But then why was she getting such a bad feeling?

She touched Natasha's shoulder, catching her attention. Adelaide swallowed.

"Nat, I'm getting a bad feeling," she whispered, looking around as her stomach did somersaults, "Can we leave?"

Nat glanced at King T'Chaka, "A stomach ache bad feeling or we're going to die bad feeling?"

"We're going to die bad feeling," Adelaide whispered worriedly. Natasha glanced back at the King again and then looked around the room. She spotted T'Challa frowning at something outside. The assassin looked at the teenager who was pale as a sheet of ice.

"We can leave in a moment," she whispered and Adelaide let out a shaky nod, feeling slightly relieved. She didn't care that Lukov was here. She didn't care about the plan. She just wanted to get as far away from here as possible.

 _Whatever you do, do_ not _go to the UN conference tomorrow._

"When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy," King T'Chaka said, "Those men and women killed in Nigeria, were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative."

Adelaide began to feel even worse. Something bad was going to happen, she could just _feel_ it. She twisted her hands in her lap, trying to control her uneven breathing. Natasha said they could leave soon. They would be fine. Graves had probably been lying. They would be fine. They would be fine.

King T'Chaka smiled, "Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace."

" _EVERYBODY GET DOWN!_ " T'Challa suddenly shouted.

The room filled with screams until the sound of a large explosion drowned them out.

* * *

Adelaide woke up to a ringing piercing her ears.

She winced, rolling her head to the side. A painful noise escaped her throat as her head began throbbing. She tried to reach up to touch the burning sensation on her forehead, but she couldn't move her hand. She groaned in pain again as her eyes flickered open. Her vision was blurry and she blinked rapidly, trying to stop the dizziness. And then she realized that she was in a moving car.

"Nat?" she croaked, "Tony?"

Adelaide tried to blink away the black spots in her vision, looking around as she lifted her head. She couldn't remember what had happened. There had been an explosion and then...

"Nat?" she repeated, her breaths quickening, "Natasha!"

This wasn't their car. This wasn't Tony's car. The infamous smell of smoke reached her nose and she began coughing uncontrollably. She realized that her hands were cuffed to the door of the car. Her eyes widened and she desperately tried to tug her hands away but the cuffs didn't give. Rather, they painfully dug into her wrists.

"Let me go!" she shouted, thrashing her hands against the door, "Let me out!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," someone said from the front of the car and the voice chilled her to her spine. No...It couldn't be...Then, he turned around.

Adelaide froze.

Lukov. It was Lukov. The former Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The man who had messed with her mind too many times to count. The man behind her nightmares. The root of her every problem. The man who had used Graves to watch her. The man who had been watching her for a year now. The man who had turned her life upside down. The man who had handcuffed her and was currently taking her away. She swallowed, suddenly feeling afraid.

"Wh-Where are you taking me?" she asked quietly and he smiled devilishly, shooting an arrow of fear into her heart.

"To give you your memories back."

* * *

"Oh, Adelaide, it's been so long," he said, his voice like a snake's hiss, "Did you miss your old man?"

He was circling her bed like a hawk.

She was in a small room with a concrete floor and a brick wall and nothing but a camera in the corner and an overhead light and a medical bed to which she was currently strapped to. She couldn't stop looking at the leather straps on her arm as she literally shivered with fear. There were a couple pacemakers stuck just under her clavicle and a strange metal machine encircling her head. Was he going to hurt her?

Lukov stopped, leaning close to her. He didn't smell like evil or even cigarettes like she had expected. He smelled clean and she hated it.

She had tried to fight him. In fact, she had fought him as he tried to get her out of the car. But then he had injected her with something and she passed out against her will. When she woke up, she found herself restrained to this bed.

"Who am I kidding?" he said, standing up, "You don't remember me. But you will. Soon."

"Wh-What are you going to do to me?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I already told you," he said calmly, "I am returning your memories."

"Why?" she asked, swallowing, "Why now?"

"All your questions will be answered with time," he smiled. He studied her for a moment with a sickening smile on his face. She squirmed under his stare. Curling his lip, he shook his head.

"You are going to do great things, Adelaide," he said quietly, trailing his finger down her face, "And I hope you realize how important you are before it's too late."

How ironic that the man who was making her question her sanity was telling her that she was important. What Adelaide didn't know at the moment was that Lukov's definition of 'great' was very different from hers.

At the moment, at least.

"Now this will hurt like hell," he warned, stepping back with a shrug, "But you've felt worse."

Oddly enough, she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to be in this horrible room alone. She didn't want to be in pain. She wanted him to tell her everything. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see Tony and let him hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

She was absolutely terrified.

"I'll see you in a few minutes, Adelaide."

As her tears blurred her vision, she watched Lukov step out of the room, leaving her alone as she shivered with sobs.

Her heart was hammering in her chest and her breaths were shortening. She tugged at the leather straps holding down her limbs, but they didn't even budge. As her eyes flooded with tears, she began thrashing in her bed.

"Let me out, Lukov! Let me out!" she screamed as her heart beat even faster. Her body knew what was about to happen. And it wasn't good. She had been through this before, she could feel it. Her tears fell faster.

"Please," she sobbed, letting her head fall back, "Please let me out."

She couldn't stay here. She had to leave. She had to do _something_. She didn't want her memories. Adelaide let out a shaky breath, staring at the camera across from her. The irony of the situation kept growing. For as long as she could remember, she wanted her memories. But now that she was so close to getting them, she didn't want them. She could _feel_ it. They were horrible. She wanted to keep living in oblivion.

"I know you can see me," she croaked, her voice breaking. She could feel her body losing energy fast. She couldn't keep fighting this.

"Please don't do this," she whispered, salty tears freely falling down her face, "I don't want my memories. I'll do anything, please..."

Nobody answered her and the circular metal above her head began lowering itself onto her head. Her whole body stilled. In two places on her forehead she felt cold metal being pressed against her. She swallowed, biting her lip as fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks.

She closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do. She had to give up. It was happening now and she couldn't stop it. She took in one last breath as the Adelaide she had become in the last year.

And then fire tore through her veins.

She screamed, thrashing on the bed. It was gone as quickly as it had come. Adelaide gasped, opening her eyes and seeing literal stars in her vision.

Again, the electricity ignited her nerves and she let out a blood-curdling scream, arching off the bed. Her head was spinning, the room was fading, but she was in too much pain to fight against her instincts and stay awake. She was being burned alive.

One last time, the fire-like electricity crackled in her nerves, but she didn't even have the energy to react. Her head lolled to the side and she let out a whimper in pain.

Finally, her vision blurred and faded until she was surrounded by darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: HOLY SHIT IT'S ALMOST HERE! I'M SO EXCITEDDDDDD! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS. NOW EVERYTHING WILL BE OUT IN THE OPEN AND YOU WILL KNOW ALLLLLLL THE SECRETS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

 **I TOLD YOU IT WOULD BE LIKE**

 **BOOM BOOM BOOOM**

 **ACTION ACTION ACTION**

 **SHIT IS GONNA GO DOWNNNNNNN. But now you have to wait for another week :)**

 ** _QUESTION: HOW EXCITED ARE YOU?!_**

 **There will be no more Adelaide Rivers as you know her, unfortunately. I'm gonna miss that girl, she was a good person and it was fun while it lasted. Goodbye, Adelaide, we will miss you and even if we don't love you (at all) for the next few dozen chapters, we will (hopefully) after that :,)**


	59. Chapter 56: Adelaide's Memories

**A/N: I lied. It's 12,000 words.**

 **I feel like I'm about to reveal classified government information...** **Okay, I won't say much other than this chapter is why I started writing this story and I put a lot of time behind it so I hope you like it.**

 **Also, please listen to this song while reading, it really pairs well. There's no lyrics, it's just piano:** watch?v=Og7nbvfd3SI

 **God, I'm so nervous...**

 **ADELAIDE'S MEMORIES**

* * *

 _AUGUST 21, 1982_

 _"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Adelaide, happy birthday to you! Blow out the candles, Dellie!"_

 _Adelaide took a deep breath, giddy with excitement, and blew out the four candles in front of her. Henry and Ava began clapping and Adelaide laughed along with them. Ava cut out a small slice of cake but Adelaide took ahold of the spoon before her mother could._

 _"I wanna do it, momma! Let me!" she said and Ava laughed, handing the spoon to her daughter._

 _"Alright, alright, you do it," Ava smiled. Jumping with excitement, Adelaide took a spoonful of her cake._

 _"Who are you going to give it to first, pumpkin?" Henry asked, silently pointing to himself. Adelaide giggled, covering her mouth._

 _"No, it should be me. Right, Dellie?" Ava asked, crouching down to come to eye level with her daughter._

 _"No, no, it's me. C'mon pumpkin," Henry said, opening his mouth, "Ahhh."_

 _"Momma's hungry, Dellie," Ava sang, opening her mouth and Adelaide couldn't_ _stop laughing as she looked at both her parents crouching down on either side of her with their mouths open for cake._

 _Finally, she made a decision and ate the spoonful of cake herself._

 _"Traitor!" Henry said, pulling his daughter into his arms to tickle her. Adelaide laughed uncontrollably, squirming in her father's hold. Ava stood up, taking this as a chance to disappear into their bedroom._

 _"That tickles!" she laughed, feeling her cheeks beginning to hurt from the laughter, "Daddy, that tickles!"_

 _"Alright Henry, I think she's been punished enough," Ava smiled, entering the room again with a pink package in her hand. Adelaide's little blue eyes widened at the gift-wrapped package in her mother's hands._

 _"You got me a present!" Adelaide shouted, running to her mother._

 _"Happy fourth birthday, Adelaide," Ava said, smiling softly as she handed her daughter the present._

 _"Open it, pumpkin," Henry said, appearing behind her but his daughter was already tearing open the wrapping paper with her small hands. Inside, was a beautiful, big, brown teddy bear._

 _"A teddy bear!" Adelaide gasped, holding it in her hands as if it was made of a delicate gold. It was her first birthday present. Her very first present._

 _"I love him, I love him!" Adelaide shrieked, jumping up and down while hugging her present to her chest. She stopped for long enough to pull both her parents into a hug. And then she pulled away, running to the bedroom with her new toy._

 _"I'm gonna call you...Maxwell," they heard their daughter say and they both gave each other a smile._

 _As long as their little Dellie was happy, everything was going to be okay...everything was going to be okay._

* * *

 _AUGUST 22, 1983_

 _"How are you feeling?" Ava asked softly, cupping her daughter's cheek. The woman's red-rimmed eyes clearly spoke about how she was feeling._

 _"I'm scared, momma," Adelaide whispered, grabbing her mother's hand. Ava bit her lip to keep the tears from spilling over._

 _"It'll all be over soon, honey," she said shakily, her voice cracking at the end, "Be strong for me, okay?"_

 _"Okay," Adelaide nodded, too scared to say much else. Ava leaned down, softly kissing her forehead._

 _"That's my good girl," she whispered, letting her lips linger. She stepped back, closing the door and locking her daughter inside the coffin-like box. Who knew if this would have been the last time she would be able to hold her daughter? Were they about to make the biggest mistake of their lives? Would it be worth the risk?_

 _As she watched her daughter sitting in the middle of the barren field in the darkness, Ava realized that didn't know the answers to any of these questions. But, in that moment, her love for her daughter overwhelmed her and she had to look away._

 _They didn't choose this life – no one would have._

 _Henry saw the look in his wife's eyes and he was sure he had the same expression in his. They were about to risk everything. And if they failed...they wouldn't be able to live with themselves._

 _"We have to do this," Henry said, reaching out to squeeze her hand and Ava nodded, taking a deep breath and wiping away her tears._

 _"I know," she whispered, looking out at the field._

 _They were in a remote area, on an abandoned farm lot. The energy source was strongest here and they had developed an intricate system to harness its power. It had taken years of research and another year of preparation to build the particle accelerator that was encircling Adelaide. She was in the center of it, right above the heart of the energy source._

 _They were lucky to have found a source that emitted so much power. It was unlike anything they had seen before, but without it, Project 1978 would have been useless. Adelaide was standing in an enclosed box that almost looked like a coffin and the only visible part of her body was her head. Her eyes were closed peacefully. She was in the center of it all, connected to the particle accelerator and the energy source coming from the ground by large pipelines._

 _Henry and Ava were standing far away from the experiment site with a large computer to control the site. One lever was all it took to start Project 1978. They both looked at each other unsurely._

 _"It's time," Henry said, glancing at his watch. The energy source was always pulsing and when it emitted a stronger signal, that was his sign to start the project._

 _"Together," Ava said, taking a deep breath. Henry nodded._

 _"Together," he agreed._

 _Together, they pulled the lever._

 _Instantly, the accelerator started until the particles inside were at an unimaginable speed. Their pulsing source was now glowing red under their daughter. The white light from the accelerator and the red light from their source came together in a collision at the spot where their daughter was standing. The brightness grew and grew until it blinded them._

 _Somewhere during this explosion of light, Ava found Henry's hand again and held on tight._

 _They had done this to save their daughter from their demons. Once this was over, they would burn everything to ashes. The accelerator, the research, the computer...everything. Then he wouldn't be able to get his hands on it. And if he ever touched their daughter, she would be able to hold her own._

 _And when the lights stopped exploding,_ _they were cast into the dark._

* * *

 _SEPTEMBER 14, 1983_

 _Their house was small. The first room consisted of the kitchen and an old couch they had found by a dumpster and there was a bedroom with a small bed that touched all four walls and a little bathroom in the corner. The only furniture they owned was the sofa, and a wobbly chair that they also used as a table. There was a wonderful view from the two windows in the house and it consisted of nothing but bare trees._

 _Their walls were thin. Especially the one between the kitchen and the bedroom. And as Adelaide was trying to fall asleep on the small and uncomfortable bed, she couldn't help but overhear her parents whispering. As a little girl, she had a birthright to be curious so she sat up and pressed her ear against the wall to listen better._

 _"What do you mean he knows?" her mom whispered angrily. Adelaide found it strange because she had never seen her momma angry before._

 _"I said_ I think _he knows," Henry sighed. She could imagine her daddy rubbing his face tiredly. He did that a lot._

 _"Who do you think they're talking about, Maxwell?" Adelaide asked the teddy bear in her arms. He shrugged and Adelaide frowned, leaning her ear against the door once again, her eyes now slightly glowing._

 _"What now?" her momma asked, "We can't keep running, Henry. And you know that I can't - not in this condition."_

 _There was some quiet._

 _"I don't know. I don't know what to do," he answered, "He-He won't stop until he gets what he wants. Maybe I should just call Nick-"_

 _"No, you can't," Ava snapped, "Do you know what they'll do to her if they see what she can do? No, there has to be another way."_

 _They had already burned everything. But Lukov didn't know that. Not that it made any difference._

 _"There isn't Ava!" Henry shouted and Adelaide flinched at the volume of his voice. Daddy had never been that angry before. She glanced at Maxwell and he held up one finger against his mouth, telling her to stay quiet._

 _"I'm sorry, I just-" Henry sighed._

 _"I'm sorry too," Ava said softly._

 _"We should go to sleep. We'll figure something out tomorrow," he said quietly._

 _Oh no._

 _Quickly, Adelaide threw the blanket over herself, covering her and Maxwell._

 _She tried not to peek when she heard the door opening. She knew it was her momma. Daddy always stayed awake way past his bedtime even though momma always told him to sleep._

 _There was no more room in this tiny bed so daddy always slept on the sofa. Adelaide wanted to sleep on the sofa too but her mom wouldn't let her._

 _"Dellie?" her mom said softly and Adelaide couldn't help but peek at her through one eye._

 _"Can't sleep?" Ava asked with a small smile as she slid beside her on the bed. Ava hugged her daughter from behind as she did the same to her teddy bear._

 _"Momma, what man were you and daddy talking about?" she asked. The room was dark now and there wasn't a window. Adelaide didn't like the dark. It was scary. She focused on the light coming from under the door_ _and the feel of Maxwell's soft fur against her face_ _._

 _"Nobody, honey. Come on, let's go to sleep."_

 _"Momma?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Why do we have to sleep on this tiny bed? I don't like it. It makes me uncomfortable," she complained, "Can't we buy a bigger house?"_

 _"Because, Dellie. There are bad guys chasing us and it's very hard to hide in a big house," she explained._

 _"Bad guys? What bad guys?" Adelaide asked, turning to see her mother's face over her shoulder. She could only make out the outline of her face in the darkness._

 _"Why do they want us, momma?"_

 _"They want you, darling. They know that you're very special and they're jealous."_

 _"What if they get me?"_

 _"They won't because your daddy and I will always be there to protect you. Every time you use your superpowers, we will be right here," Ava said, placing her hand over her daughter's heart._

 _Adelaide held up her hand until it began to tickle and pretended she was holding a star in her hand._

 _"Like that?" she whispered in awe as she felt her heart beating faster. Ava laughed softly._

 _"Just like that," she said._

 _"Momma?" Adelaide asked, making the star disappear and settling closer against her mom._

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Can you sing me the lullaby?"_

 _"Спи, девочка моя, красавица..." (Sleep good girl, my beautiful girl...)_

* * *

 _OCTOBER 19, 1983_

 _"Daddy, where are we going?" Adelaide asked as he clicked her seatbelt in._

 _"We, pumpkin," he said, putting some luggage under her feet, "are going on a road trip."_

 _"Really?" she asked, her face lighting up. Henry tapped her nose._

 _"Really."_

 _"But it's so dark outside," she frowned, glancing out the window. She didn't like the dark. The woods were scary in the dark._

 _"It's a nighttime road trip, pumpkin," he smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Adelaide grinned._

 _"A va-vaca-vacation?" she asked. She really liked vacations, even if she couldn't say the word sometimes._

 _"A vacation," Henry smiled, dropping a kiss on her forehead. He stood up straight and shut the car door._

 _They didn't have much luggage except for a few clothes. He spotted his wife walking out of their little cabin in the woods, holding a teddy bear with one hand and keeping the other on her swollen belly._

 _Ava slowly walked over to their car, stopping beside Henry. She crouched down over the window and tapped on it, getting her daughter's attention._

 _Adelaide rolled down the window with the handle._

 _"Dellie, aren't you forgetting something?"_

 _"What?" Adelaide frowned. Ava held up the teddy bear in her hand._

 _"Maxwell!" she said, taking it from her hand. She never went anywhere without him, it was a surprise she had forgotten it._

 _"Everything's in the car?" Ava asked her husband, standing upright._

 _"Yup, we were just waiting for you," he replied._

 _"Let's go, then," Ava said, taking a deep breath. Henry put a hand on her shoulder to steady her._

 _"We're going to be safe once we get there," he reassured her, putting his other hand over hers on her stomach. Inside, was a little secret of theirs. It was the reason Henry was so eager to leave the woods and find someplace better, someplace safer._

 _With Dellie's powers they would be able to get new identities and start their lives over. The middle of the woods was no place to raise a baby._

 _Ava nodded, staring at the dirt._

 _"I just...I have this feeling."_

 _"Me too," he said quietly and she looked up, swallowing._

 _"I don't like this," she said. Henry pressed his lips into a thin line._

 _"Neither do I," he agreed, "But we don't have another choice."_

 _"Momma, I wanna go on vacation!" Adelaide complained from her seat and Ava_ _forced a smile_ _, glancing at Henry._

 _"Alright, alright, we're going," she said. Sharing a look with Henry, she took her seat in the passenger side while he walked around the car to take a seat in the driver's side._

 _"Ready, pumpkin?" Henry asked after turning the car on._

 _"Ready!" she said, smiling big from ear to ear. They had never gone on a vacation before and she couldn't wait to see where they were going._

 _Two hours later, Adelaide was getting bored. She wanted to play a game with her parents but they were busy talking._

 _Maxwell rolled his eyes._

 _"I'm worried, Henry," her momma said, "She's still a little girl." She wanted to think that they were doing the right thing, but, in all these years, they had forgotten what was right and what was wrong._

 _"I am too, Ava," Henry agreed, his eyes still on the road, "but we've done the best we could. She's safe." Her mom didn't look assured. If it had been up to her, they would have stayed in their little cabin instead of out here, in the open, where he could find them._

 _"This – all of this – it's unfair to her. She's just a child!"_

 _Henry reached over and grabbed his wife's hand. He glanced at her for a second, but his eyes were still fixed on the road. Ava stubbornly looked out the window, a deep frown on her face. She looked tired and her eyes were filled with guilt and regret._

 _Adelaide had never seen her momma look so worried before. Except maybe that one night in the field._

 _"Ava, listen to me. Our daughter's power will make her the most powerful person in the world. No one will be able to touch her," Henry said. Ava softened, looking down at her hand holding her husband's. She knew he was right. They had done everything they could, given the circumstances._

 _"Not even him?" she whispered, even_ _though_ _she already knew the answer. She just needed to hear the words._

 _"Not even him," Henry said firmly, trying to convince himself. The man's eyes glazed over with determination. No one was going to touch his daughter as long as he was alive. Ava looked out the window again, her gaze beyond the dark trees._

 _"I hope you're right," she whispered, her other hand going to her swollen belly. He squeezed her hand._

 _"Just watch, Ava. Our daughter will avenge us," he said, looking at his wife and then at her hand on her stomach, "I promise."_

 _His attention wasn't on the road now, he was watching his wife's beautiful blue eyes that made him fall in love with her many years ago. Those bright eyes were what got him through the dark days of their life._

 _They would find a way out of this, they had to. For Dellie and for their little munchkin._

 _Unknown to Henry and Ava, in the distance, a pair of headlights came towards them. The car was driving on the wrong side of the road. It was coming right at them but it wasn't slowing down._

 _Adelaide had busied herself playing chameleon with Maxwell and Henry was saying something to Ava, his eyes not watching the road._

 _The car was dangerously fast and dangerously close._

 _Suddenly, Ava screamed, "HENRY!"_

 _Henry's eyes grew wide and he spun the steering wheel to the right, but it was too late._

 _The car crashed into theirs. Both cars skid off the road, theirs hitting a tree. For a moment, Adelaide's ears were ringing and when everything stopped spinning, she tried to open her eyes._

 _"Momma..." she whispered painfully. There was a trail of sticky red blood running down from a wide gash on her arm. She blindly reached out, trying to find Maxwell but she couldn't see anything in the dark. Tears pricked her eyes from the pain coming from her arm._

 _Outside, a black car appeared next to theirs. The driver got out and opened the back door. Another man stepped out, in the middle of reloading his gun. His dark eyes locked onto their car, narrowing as his thin lips curved into a smile. Somehow unaffected by the disturbing sight of the accident, he gracefully walked over to whatever was left of their car, casually bending over to see the couple._

 _Upon seeing him, her daddy's eyes narrowed. On the other hand, Ava was trying to keep her fear and pain from showing. Keeping one hand on her stomach, Ava kept subtly glancing into the backseat, at her daughter._

 _Adelaide didn't like this man. He was scary and he had a gun._

 _A terrifying smile appeared onto his face. The smile not wavering, he aimed his gun at Henry's head._

 _Adelaide wanted to scream, but her voice was gone. Her breaths shortened and she looked at her mom. Why wasn't she helping daddy? She tried to use her superpowers to make her momma and daddy invisible_ _,_ _but she was fading out. She was too scared to help them._

 _"Daddy..." she whispered, feeling dizzy. Henry's eyes pricked with tears but he didn't look back._

 _This was it. That would be the last time that he would hear his little pumpkin call him that. He took the soft sound of her voice and secured it away in a part of his brain as if he would be able to hear it after he was gone._

 _He wanted his life to flash before his eyes, but he couldn't think past the feeling of the cold metal pressed against his head_ _or the sound of his daughter's voice that he would never hear again_ _._

 _His biggest nightmare was happening. His demons had caught up to him. And not only would he pay for it, but so would Ava, Dellie, and their little munchkin who wouldn't even get the chance to see the light of day._

 _"I win," Lukov sneered. Henry wanted to take the gun, he wanted to spit in the man's face, he didn't want to lose, but he was frozen._

 _Lukov was right. He had lost, it was over._

 _He had to give up._

 _Lukov pulled the trigger and Ava screamed._

 _He aimed the gun at Ava next. She was shaking and crying, but she couldn't speak._ _She couldn't stop staring at her dead husband._ _His gun lowered at her stomach and she shrank away from him._

 _He wouldn't. Even he wasn't that heartless._

 _"I_ _won't kill you just yet_ _," he smirked, shooting at the window behind her instead and making her jump. Lukov glanced back at Adelaide and she shrank away from him too._

 _Tears were running down her face and she couldn't breathe. Her little heart was beating thrice as fast._

 _Was daddy really gone?_

 _She wanted to reach out and touch him. She hoped he was only pretending. But she couldn't move her arm - it was hurting too much._

 _"The girl comes with me," Lukov barked and with that, he turned around and walked away._

 _Ava let out a breath of relief, even if it was for only two seconds alone with her daughter. She turned around, reaching out to hold her hand. The pregnant woman suddenly found herself at a loss for words. There was her daughter, shaking in fear and pain, having just seen her father shot in front of her young eyes._

 _What could she even say?_

 _"Momma," Adelaide cried, squeezing her mother's hand._

 _"I'm sorry, Dellie," she whispered, choking on a sob, "I love you,_ _darling_ _and...and so did your dad. Don't let these bad guys tell you—"_

 _Someone opened Ava's door and forcefully pulled her out of the car, leaving Adelaide's hand empty._

 _"Momma!" she cried, reaching out to hold her hand again. They wouldn't take her momma away too, would they? What would she do without her parents? Who would be there to call her pumpkin and sing her lullabies? Would they kill her too?_

 _Her door opened and another man pulled her out of her seat. He was much more gentle than the man that had taken her mother and Adelaide tried to fight him, but he was too big. Her feet hit the pavement and he dragged her along to the black car with the bad man who had just killed her daddy._

 _She didn't want to go with him, she didn't like him._ _She needed to see her daddy again. He had to be alright, he had to._

 _Against her will, she was shoved into the back of the black car. Even though her arm was hurting, she pounded on the door, yelling at them to open it so she could see her_ _parents_ _again, but no one heard her screams._

 _"They won't listen to you," Lukov said, watching the little girl. She was stubborn like her father was. Had been._

 _"Tell them to let me go," she begged, sobbing, "I want to see my momma."_

 _"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said simply. She looked at him through her teary eyes._

 _"I'll go with you, I'll do whatever you say, but I want to see my momma," she cried_ _, "Please. Please, let me out."_

 _"вести себя, маленькая девочка," he_ _snapped_ _. (Behave, little girl.)_

 _"почему ты сделал больно моему папе?" she asked_ _, tears rushing down her small face_ _. (Why did you hurt my daddy?)_

 _"Потому что он не был хорошим человеком." (Because he was not a good man.)_

 _"Ты врешь! Ты не хороший человек! Я хочу пойти с моей мамой!" she shouted, pounding her little fists against the door again. (You're lying! You're not a good man! I want to go with my momma!)_

 _"слишком поздно," (Too late) Lukov smiled, "Once we get there, your memories will be erased and you won't remember your parents. There will only be you and I. Just like it should have been a long time ago."_

 _She felt the car starting and she pressed her nose against the window, trying to see her daddy one last time._

 _He was still in the car, with a bullet in his head._

* * *

 _SEPTEMBER 23, 1986_

 _SIBERIA_

 _"What did I say about your aim, Adelaide?" Lukov growled, snatching the gun from her hands. She looked down at the floor._

 _"It has to be perfect," she said quietly._

 _"Сделай это снова," (Do it again) he ordered, shoving the gun in her hands again._

 _Her hands gripped the weapon tightly, feeling ashamed. She had let him down again. She couldn't do a single thing right._

 _Adelaide held up the gun, zeroing her vision on the center of the bullseye. Then, she pulled the trigger._

 _The bullet hit the center and she let out a breath of relief._

 _"Очень хорошая работа," (Very good work) Lukov said, coming to stand beside her. Adelaide smiled at the compliment._

 _"Now, Adelaide," Lukov said, "You will show me what you've learned."_

 _Adelaide nodded eagerly. She couldn't wait to show him all that she had learned. He was the only person who appreciated her abilities. She didn't feel comfortable around anyone but him._

 _He was almost like a father to her._

 _Her real father had been nothing but a liar. Her whole life he had used her. He had risked her life for his research. She was glad he was dead, Lukov had done her a favor._

 _Another man entered the training room. He was tall. And he looked arrogant. He took off his shirt and stepped into the fighting ring. She had seen him around before but she had never spoken to him before._

 _Lukov was glaring at him, she realized. If Lukov didn't like him, then she didn't like him._

 _"You're 15 minutes late, Graves," he said. Graves grinned, licking his lips._

 _"Maybe you're 15 minutes early," he replied cockily_ _, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Lukov ignored him_ _._

 _"Adelaide, you will fight him until one of you is unconscious. You better hope that it is him," Lukov said and walked over to the side of the room. Adelaide nodded obediently._

 _As she climbed into the fighting ring with him, she noticed a glint in his eyes. He didn't look trustworthy and she didn't know why Lukov had brought him here. Maybe she should just kill him. She didn't think Lukov would care – he didn't seem to like him very much anyway._

 _"Scared?" he asked with a grin. The stench of cigarettes around him was so strong that she could almost taste it._

 _"You should be," she hissed and he laughed._

 _"If only you knew better," he said, but it didn't make any sense to her._

 _She got into position. Rolling his eyes, Graves did the same. They locked eyes, ready to start fighting._

 _And then, Adelaide turned herself invisible._

 _Before Graves could realize what was going on, she tackled him, pushing him onto the floor. He landed, hitting the back of his head on the cement. She quickly scrambled off of him before he stood up._

 _Adelaide didn't give him much time to recover. As soon as he was up again, she swung her foot up, kicking his neck. And when he hunched over, she pulled him up by the hair and slammed him against the floor again._

 _He groaned in pain, rolling over onto this back. To her surprise, he held up a finger._

 _"This," he groaned, "is cheating."_

 _"Because you're losing?" she scoffed._

 _"Бой должен быть равным," (A fight should be equal) he said, cupping the back of his head. Rolling her eyes, Adelaide made herself visible again. She could tell Lukov was watching intently from where he was sitting._

 _She got into position as Graves stood up again. What he didn't know was that the girl standing in front of him was only an illusion of light. Adelaide was standing behind him, still invisible._

 _As he lunged forward, so did she. However, he rolled to the side and her punch landed on the cement, breaking the skin around her knuckles._

 _"You're loud, sweetheart," he laughed, standing up again._

 _"Don't call me that," she growled at the use of the stupid name. She gritted her teeth, wiping the blood off of her hand. He came at her again and this time, he had her pinned to the floor by her neck._

 _Adelaide struggled under his grip, trying to breathe, but his grip only tightened._

 _Her vision was fading, she had to do something. She couldn't lose. She couldn't let Lukov down again._

 _"Sweet dreams, Rivers," he smirked as she faded away into darkness._

* * *

 _TWO WEEKS LATER_

 _When Adelaide opened her eyes, she found Graves sitting across from her._

 _She scrambled up, looking around._

 _"What the hell are you doing here?" she grumbled. Her room was her sanctuary. It was small, the size of a jail cell. There was a bed, a chair, and a window with bars._

 _Adelaide was grateful to even have a room to call her own. Lukov was too good to her sometimes. But Graves was not allowed in here. Ever. She didn't even know how he got here to begin with._

 _"Did you know that you talk in your sleep?" he asked and she rolled her eyes, standing up. She didn't get the luxury of a mirror so she never bothered with looks. Roll out of bed, hit the bathroom on the way to the training room. Plain and simple, fast and easy._

 _It had been only a couple weeks since she had first met Graves and she had yet to beat him in a fight. Even with her powers, he always had her by the throat at the end. Lukov didn't like him, Adelaide didn't like him, and many others didn't like him. However, Graves couldn't seem to care less._

 _He stopped her just before she closed the bathroom door._

 _"Be ready to lose in the training room," he grinned, "Again."_

 _She slammed the door in his face._

* * *

 _By the time she got there, five minutes later, Lukov and Graves were discussing something. Upon seeing her approaching, Graves stepped back and walked over to the other side of the training room._

 _Lukov gave her a hard look. "I wouldn't be surprised if you disappoint me again today."_

 _Adelaide pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. She couldn't let him down again. The guilt would overwhelm her. She had to win. For Lukov._

 _"Today you will both fight with this," Lukov said, throwing her something. She caught it and realized it was a blade. She looked up at Lukov but he was already walking away. Adelaide took a deep breath, twisting the knife in her hand. It was strange how familiar it felt in her hand._

 _Graves was already in the fighting ring, holding his knife. He grinned at her as she climbed inside. From the corner of her vision, she saw another man walk into the room. He took a seat beside Lukov, shaking hands with him._

 _"That's Vassily Karpov," Graves said, pointing at the man with his chin, "He's one of us."_

 _Adelaide looked at him. "Us?"_

 _"HYDRA," he clarified with a shrug._

 _"What's he doing here?" she asked, watching him. Karpov caught her eye and smiled. She looked away. His smile made her sick, for some reason._

 _"Don't ask too many questions if you know what's good for you, Rivers," Graves answered with a crooked smile of his own. She knew he knew more than he was letting on but she knew he wouldn't answer if she asked. Adelaide realized that this was the longest normal conversation that they had had since they met._

 _"If I win again, you should take it personally," he grinned, getting into position and effectively ending their somewhat normal conversation. With one last glance at Lukov and Karpov, she did the same. The knife in her hand was invisible, but she was sure Graves already knew that. He always did. She could never hide from him._

 _She swallowed, licking her lips. If she didn't win this fight, she would kill the man in his sleep tonight. Then Lukov would be forced to find another man for her to practice with. Hopefully, he wouldn't be such a smartass._

 _Graves started the fight, kicking her feet out from under her. She groaned as her head with the floor. She made herself invisible and rolled over before he could get her again. As she had expected, he came for her again, this time with his knife. She grabbed his arm, seconds before he plunged the knife into her shoulder._

 _Grunting, she pushed him off of herself and he stumbled back for a second before coming at her again. This time, she climbed on the rope going around the ring and jumped onto his shoulders. He lost his balance for a moment but just before she could dig her knife into his shoulder, he grabbed her legs and pulled her down, causing her to fall head first onto the floor._

 _She felt blood trickling down her forehead as she tried to dodge his knife. He didn't have a scratch and her head was bleeding._

 _God,_ _she hated him. She was going to kill him. Right here, in this stupid ring, she was going to kill him._

 _With hot anger coursing through her veins, she stood up, gripping the knife in her hand._

 _This time, she attacked first._

 _She ran forward, ducking under his arm and then gripping his other arm to twist it behind his back. He might have had the advantage of being taller, but she was invisible. Once again, before she could plunge the knife into his back, he spun around and knocked her onto the floor again._

 _She stopped him before his knife dug into her stomach and flipped him over so that she was hovering over him, holding her knife out with one hand and pressing his throat with the other._

 _Adelaide grinned, feeling the rush of adrenaline. She was finally going to beat him._

 _"I win," she breathed, grinning maniacally._

 _However, just as she was about to plunge her knife into his shoulder, he stabbed her other arm, causing her to jerk the knife right into his eye._

* * *

 _OCTOBER 3, 1986_

 _"I need you to do something for me, Adelaide," Lukov said. They were walking down the hall with two guards in front of them and behind them. She wasn't sure where they were going exactly._

 _"Anything," she said with a confident smile._

 _Lukov nodded approvingly. They came to a stop by a metal door identical to all the other doors in the facility. He nodded at the guard to his right and he stepped forward, opening the door for them._

 _Lukov marched forward and Adelaide followed him into the room. Inside, it was dark. There were no windows. The only light was coming from the small bulb hanging from the ceiling which flickered every few seconds. Towards the back, was a middle-aged man tied to a chair. He had a black eye and a busted lip._

 _He was crying._

 _"Adelaide," Lukov said, handing her something, "I need you to kill this man."_

 _She looked down at the glinting weapon in her hand. A gun. She had used one before. Plenty of times. At a bullseye. Never at an actual person before. She looked up at the man sitting in front of her, hesitating to hook her finger around the trigger like she had plenty of times before._

 _"This is Anderson Jones," Lukov said, oblivious to her hesitation as he stalked toward the man, "He is 34 years old. He has one daughter, six years old. His wife, Elizabeth Jones is pregnant. His other daughter will be born any day now. His mother has cancer. The doctors say that she only has a few months left to live. Anderson is very close with his mother."_

 _Her eyes fell on the open wallet on the floor. There was a picture of his wife and daughter next to a lightened tree. His daughter was hugging a little black teddy bear, her blue eyes alight with happiness._

 _"Why are you telling me this?" Adelaide asked quietly. She couldn't look away from the man._

 _He was sobbing. He was looking at her, begging her to help him. She swallowed._

 _"Because, Adelaide," Lukov said gently, stopping behind the man's chair, turning to face her, "I want to show you that none of it matters...What matters is that his father owes me a debt and he is not present to pay it. So Anderson will have to suffice."_

 _"So I-I have to kill him?" she whispered, hoping her voice didn't give away her hesitation._

 _"Of course – have I not made myself clear? Are you even paying attention, Adelaide?" he asked, walking past the chair and coming to stand beside her._

 _"Y-Yes," she said, her voice sounding weaker than she had hoped, "I'll-I'll kill him."_

 _Adelaide raised the gun. Anderson looked at her with a painful expression and she clenched her jaw. She had to prove herself to Lukov. She had to kill him. For Lukov._

 _He has one daughter, six years old..._

 _His other daughter will be born any day now..._

 _Anderson is very close with his mother..._

 _I want to show you that none of it matters..._

 _Ridding her face of any emotion, Adelaide pulled the trigger._

* * *

 _ELEKTROSTAL, RUSSIA_

 _NOVEMBER 23, 1989_

 _It was nighttime in Elektrostal._

 _Adelaide wasn't fond of the dark, but it made for better hiding. People were in their homes. Most were asleep. The few that were wandering the streets didn't notice the invisible girl walking past them._

 _She was on a mission. Lukov had entrusted her to run one of his errands. Adelaide was very glad that he trusted her enough to do so. There were very few people that Lukov trusted. Besides, Adelaide owed him. He had saved her from a life as a lab rat. Even if she were to lay her life down for him, it wouldn't have been enough to repay her debt._

 _She was lucky Lukov only asked her to repay him by doing smaller things. Such as handling rogue enemies of his._

 _Adelaide came to a stop in front of a red door. She was in a secluded neighborhood. According to Lukov, there weren't many people that lived here besides a bit of the elderly population. However, behind this red door lived a middle-aged man who had switched sides. Maybe he had had a change of heart._

 _But HYDRA did not tolerate changes of hearts._

 _So Adelaide was here to finish him and gather Lukov's payments before he bothered Lukov or HYDRA any further. Singing and laughter could be heard from inside. Raising her invisible fist, she briskly knocked on the door. Silence._

 _Then, the sound of locks turning. Adelaide counted seven. A moment later, the red door opened. It was the man she had been looking for._

 _Sergei Smirnov He had a beard that needed trimming, glasses that were too big for his face, and a mole on his balding forehead._

 _As he looked around to see who had knocked on the door, she silently slid past him, into his house, unwarranted. With a curious look, the man closed the door, locking it up again._

 _Inside the house was a short woman and two kids. One boy and one girl. Neither looked older than ten years old. There were sitting around the dinner table, eating their meal. Adelaide cocked her head to the side, observing them curiously. Something prevented her from looking away, but she squared her shoulders and returned her attention to the mission._

 _"Кто это был?" the short woman asked as the man walked back into the room. (Who was it?)_

 _"Глупые дети," he grumbled, walking back to his seat at the dinner table, "Всегда шутки." (Stupid kids. Always playing pranks.)_

 _"_ Ой _," the woman smiled, "Ешьте ужин, пока не стало холодно_. _" (Oh. Eat your dinner before it gets cold.)_

 _Adelaide checked her watch. A few more minutes before Lukov would send Graves to pick her up. She had to make this fast. So she decided to make her presence known. She marched over to where the little boy was sitting and grabbed him by his collar, dragging him out of his chair._

 _His silverware clattered to the floor as the sound of his screams filled the room._

 _"Alek! Alek!" the short woman shouted. Adelaide smiled, making herself fully visible to the family._

 _"Sergei, so nice to finally meet you," she said. They were all standing up now, cautiously watching her actions. The man was still, gauging the dangerousness of this girl standing in his house. She barely looked looked 10 years old. How much of a threat could she be?_

 _"Please just let go of my son," he said calmly._

 _"I'll let go of him when you give me the money," she hissed, gritting her teeth. She pulled a gun from the back of her waistband and pressed it to the boy's head. His mother screamed._

 _"Sergei! Дай ей деньги!" she screamed, crying. (Give her the money!)_

 _"Stop! I swear I don't have the money — just please_ — _please let my son go!" he shouted, raising his hands. Adelaide pressed the nozzle into the little boy's head. He was squirming under her grip, trying to escape._

 _"Papa!" the boy cried._

 _"Give me the money," she said calmly, "and I'll let your son go."_

 _"I told you I don't have it!" he boomed._

 _It was followed by the sound of a gunshot._

 _The little boy went limp in her arms and he fell to the floor once Adelaide let go of him, stepping back. It was deathly silent in the house now and the sound of gunshot was ringing in everyone's ears. She scowled at the man, now pointing the gun at him._

 _He fell to his knees, crying. His wife followed. They hid their face in their hands, shaking with sobs._

 _"Give me the money," Adelaide said, pointing the gun at him. She was running late. Lukov would send Graves here any minute now and she couldn't afford to be late._

 _"I told you," he cried, "I don't have it."_

 _"That's what they all say," she scoffed, waving her gun around. He was making this too hard. If he just gave her to money, she could be on her way. The only person who would have had to die was him. But these people and their pride. Always got the best of them. Adelaide looked down at the floor where the boy had fallen. Now with blood oozing out of his head. Look who had to pay the price._

 _"Last time I'm telling you this," she warned, "Just give me the fucking money and I'll be on my way."_

 _Sergei didn't say anything. Adelaide sighed, making herself invisible again. Before he had caught on, she grabbed the woman by the arm and dragged her to stand next to where the boy had fallen. She made herself visible again._

 _"Sergei!" the woman cried and his eyes widened._

 _"Let go of my wife! You already took my son! I already told you! I! Don't! Fucking! Have! It!"_

 _Adelaide rolled her eyes, pressing her gun to the woman's forehead now. She screamed._

 _"We've already established that you're lying," Adelaide said, tightening her grip on the woman, "So let's make this clear. Give me the money or I'll shoot your wife."_

 _He studied her expression and then looked at his wife._

 _"Sergei," she cried quietly, "Пожалуйста, просто дай ей то, что она хочет_." ( _Please just give her what she wants.)_

 _"Ilya_ , _I really don't have it," he said quietly, shaking his head. Then he turned to Adelaide, putting his hands together. "Please let my wife go. She's innocent. I don't have what you're looking for."_

 _Another gunshot._

 _"Save your prayers for God," Adelaide hissed, wiping the blood that had splattered onto her jaw with the back of her hand._

 _"You_ _heartless_ _bitch!" he boomed,_ _crumbling into the floor_ _, "I fucking told you that I don't have the fucking money! I'm telling you the truth!"_

 _"It sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself," she said, crossing one arm across her chest and resting her elbow in her hand, "I know you have it somewhere here, Sergei."_

 _Adelaide glanced behind him, trying to see the little girl hiding behind him. Sergei's eyes widened and he put an arm around her defensively, taking a step back._

 _"No," he whispered, shaking his head, "No, not her. Please, no."_

 _Adelaide smiled. Then she turned herself invisible._

 _Within seconds, she had_ _torn_ _the little girl from her father's grip, hastily pulling her away. Then she was visible again. Sergei almost passed out at the sight of a gun being pressed to his daughter's head. The most precious thing in the world. His diamond._

 _The only family he had left._

 _"Nikita," he said gently, choking on a sob, "I'm so sorry. This is all Papa's fault. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."_

 _"Pay up, Smirnov," Adelaide said. These people were too clouded with emotions to think straight. The world was black and white. Right and wrong. Stupid emotions made things gray and hazy._

 _"I told you, I don't-"_

 _"Bullshit," she spat, "I say it's right here. In this house."_

 _He clenched his jaw, looking away from her._

 _Adelaide smirked. This sick bastard had only been lying to waste her time. Was he waiting for backup? She checked her watch. Graves would be here any minute now. And by the looks of it, so would his backup._

 _"Last chance," she said, "Money. Now."_

 _"Just-Just please trust me. I really don't have-"_

 _"I swear to God if I have to hear you say that fucking sentence one more time, I'm going to pull this trigger!" she yelled. Enough was enough. She was on a clock here._

 _"L-Listen to me, I-"_

 _"I SAID LAST CHANCE!" she shouted. The girl began crying loudly. Adelaide's hand was shaking. Why was her hand shaking? If Lukov were here, he would have scolded her. She needed to get it together._

 _"Папа, я не хочу умирать," she sobbed. (Papa, I don't want to die.)_

 _"Take me to it," she warned, pressing the gun deeper into the girl's head._

 _He didn't move for one...two...three...four...five...six...seven-_

 _And then he began to move. Relieved, she followed him, the gun never leaving his head. He led her to a bedroom on the first floor. Then he got on the floor and picked up a couple of loose floorboards, revealing a black duffel bag._

 _"Open it," she said, knocking the nozzle of the gun against the girl's forehead. He obliged, opening the zipper. Lukov's payment. Adelaide jackpot. She grinned, taking the bag but not moving her gun._

 _"You are a very prideful man,_ _Sergei_ _," she said, eyeing the cash. He looked at her with his red rimmed eyes filled with nothing but hatred. She was sure he'd kill her without hesitation if the gun was in his hands._

 _"You're a monster," he spat, glancing at his daughter still being held at gunpoint. She smiled._

 _"Tell me something I don't know."_

 _"Just let us go," he sighed, putting his hands up._

 _"I would," she frowned, raising her gun, "I really would. But I'm afraid that I can't leave behind any witnesses."_

 _She aimed it at him, "Since I'm feeling kind tonight, I'll save you the pain of watching your daughter die."_

* * *

 _DECEMBER 19, 1986_

 _NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA_

 _"I'm in position," Adelaide said into the earpiece hidden in her ear._

 _"Ten seconds," came Lukov's voice in her ear. Adelaide had transformed herself into Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union._

 _She was a relatively tall man with a receding hairline and a simple pair of special glasses that blocked out her glowing blue eyes, but seemed like normal prescription glasses. It was all for an illusion, of course._

 _She only had to pretend to be this man long enough to release Andrei Sakharov from internal exile. Andrei had been a critic of the Soviet government, something that they did not take lightly to. Six years go, he was sentenced to an internal exile after a very public condemnation of the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan._

 _More importantly, however, Andrei was a nuclear physicist. One of the best. So it was clear that he would be very useful to Lukov_ _._

 _Besides, she would be doing Gorbachev a favor._

 _After all, with the war going on, an action like this would reflect decreasing political repression inside the Soviet Union. Lukov couldn't care less about that, though. He only wanted Andrei._

 _The real Gorbachev was currently passed out in the closet. A girl he had never seen coming, had marched into his office and knocked him out. Then, she gagged him and dragged him into the closet in his office where his secretary would find him long after Adelaide had left with Andrei._

 _There was a knock on the door. Adelaide cleared her throat._

 _"Вхоoдить," (Enter.) she said. A stout, black-haired man entered the office._

 _"Машина в ожидании, сэр," he said (The car is waiting, Sir)._

 _Adelaide stood up from behind Gorbachev's desk and walked out of the door, with the man following closely behind. He was_ _Gorbachev's_ _secretary._

 _Outside the federal building, the steps were swarmed with reporters. Adelaide got into the car without saying a word to them or glancing in their direction._

" _Oтведите нас в тюрьму," the secretary said. (Take us to the prison.)_

 _Adelaide sat comfortably in my seat, with Lukov silently listening in her ear. Life as a Soviet leader could be moderately comfortable. They arrived at the prison soon. Lukov had shown her the blueprints and she had taken it upon herself to memorize them._

 _Her secretary opened her door for her and with a grunt, she stepped out of the car. Luckily, Gorbachev_ _wasn't_ _a man of many words._

" _Прошу сюда, сэр," he said, (This way, Sir.) Adelaide followed him into the short, old building, subtly looking around. The building was definitely old – leaky walls, peeling wallpaper, stained carpets. The secretary led her down the stairs, deeper into the building where it was noticeably colder and darker._

" _Прошу сюда," (This way) he said, leading his boss down a steeped hallway._ _The stone walls were soon replaced by jail cells that were holding criminals. However, the man she was here for was not in one of these cells. He was at the end of the hall, in a basement of sorts, trapped with his wife. There were free to leave at any time they pleased – as long as he had an officer with him to bring them right back._

" _Мы тут," (We are here) the secretary said, stopping in front of the door. 'Андрей Сахаров,' the door read. The secretary knocked on the door once before opening it and stepping aside to let Adelaide walk inside._

 _Andrei was sitting at a desk, his wife staring at the open book in her hand. He stood up, surprised to see Mikhail Gorbachev himself standing in front of him. He shared a look with his wife who stood up as well, abandoning her book on the bed behind her._

" _Господин секретарь," (Mr. Secretary) he said, his tone laced with anger. His wife came to stand beside him._

 _"Your_ _exile has ended,_ _" (твое изгнание закончилось)_ _Adelaide said in the lowest voice she could manage. The others in the room_ _didn't_ _happen to notice this minor detail._

" _Что, Как? Зачем?" (What? How? What for?) he stuttered. She nodded at her secretary._

" _Вы увидите, господин Сахаров,_ _" (You'll_ _see, Mr. Sakharov) he told the nuclear scientist,_ _"Давай."_ _(Come on.)_

 _Adelaide had already sent_ _Gorbachev's_ _press secretary a note to release to the press the news of Sakharov being released from internal exile. Lukov would have preferred to have kept the news silent, but he suspected that the government would find it suspicious if the Secretary were to do something so great without making a great deal of it. The press was probably already lined outside this building._

 _And she had been right. When they emerged with Sakharov, the press suffocated them with questions and camcorders. She picked the reporter closest to her and answered to him._

" _Andrei Sakharov has been released from his internal exile."_

 _And then she walked past the rest of them, with her party following closely behind._ _Lukov's_ _driver, disguised as_ _Gorbachev's_ _driver opened the door for her and she got inside with the other two men while_ _Andrei's_ _wife sat in the front._

 _The ride back to the federal building was silent. She could tell the newly released were itching to ask questions, but they refrained. When they arrived, the secretary stepped out of the car along with_ _Andrei's wife._

 _"_ _Я скоро вернусь с Сахаровым," Adelaide told the secretary (I will be back soon with Sakharov). He gave her a strange look, but then nodded._

" _Конечно, сэр," (Of course, Sir) he said and then led_ _Andrei's_ _wife into the building. Her driver drove out of the lot and the moment they were out of sight, Adelaide turned herself back into her normal self, discarding the glasses._

 _Andrei looked terrified._

" _W-кто ты!" he shouted (Who are you!)._

" _Adelaide Rivers," she told him, "Nice to meet you, Andrei."_

" _Что ты от меня хочешь?" he asked (What do you want from me?)._

" _Не я. Lukov," she said with a wicked grin (Not me. Lukov)._

 _Another mission accomplished._

* * *

 _MARCH 25, 1989_

 _Adelaide loved fighting people._

 _There was always a weakness she could detect, a soft spot. The adrenaline that came when she found it was addicting. The surprise on their faces when they realized that she could be invisible was always entertaining. And that feeling when they were withering under her grip only moments before they lost._

 _The first had been Graves. He had been the hardest to beat. But she had done it, nonetheless. Even if it cost him his eye. That stupid smirk on his face still wasn't gone and she always wondered what else she would have to stab to make it disappear._

 _The rest_ _had been_ _easy. There was an American spy who had put up a good fight. A Russian woman who had backstabbed Lukov. Even an European double agent who was refusing to give Lukov information involving the war. That was just to name a few._

 _But what Adelaide hadn't expected to fight was a boy._

 _He looked sick. His skin was paper thin and covered with bruises. His eyes were sunken into their sockets. Without his shirt, she could count his ribs._ _The contrast of_ _jet black hair which came down to the bottom of his neck made him look even paler. He couldn't possibly be healthy. Maybe he was dying._

 _She spotted a black mark on his wrist_ _._ 113 _, it read. He_ _caught her looking and he turned his hand away, scowling at her._

 _"Adelaide, today you will fight him," Lukov said once they were in the ring, "As you already know, if he loses, he will be killed."_

 _Of course she knew that. She was honored that Lukov trusted her enough to make this decision. It had always been this way. Adelaide loved being so in control. She was addicted to the power of having someone's life in her hands._

 _Suddenly, Graves walked through the open doors, taking a seat beside Lukov. He smirked at Adelaide and she looked away in disgust._

 _She turned her attention to the sickly boy standing in front of her. He had to be younger than her. He barely came up to her shoulder._

 _"What's your name?" she asked._

 _"I don't have a name," he spat in a shaky voice. She didn't know why he was angry. Maybe it was because he was about to die._

 _"Everyone has a name," she said. He narrowed his eyes at her._

 _"I don't," he snapped again. Adelaide gritted her teeth. What an asshole. It was a good thing he wasn't going to be around for much longer. She got into position, never taking her eyes off of him._

 _This should be easy. She didn't know what Lukov was thinking when he brought this frail little boy to fight her, but she didn't care because she would beat him and then Lukov would be proud. An easy victory._

 _The boy stood there, unsure of what to do with his hands. Adelaide smirked. Had he never fought anyone before? By the looks of it, he hadn't._

 _Adelaide made herself invisible and knocked his feet out from under him. He fell over with an_ oof _and slowly tried to stand back up. He looked around for the girl but he couldn't see her anywhere. Lukov hadn't told him that she would have powers._

 _Suddenly, he felt someone punch his jaw and fell over again, now with blood dripping out of his mouth._

 _He closed his eyes, ignoring the throbbing pain in his jaw. He had felt worse before. He needed to focus on using what Lukov had taught him. The boy gritted his teeth, making a fist with his frail hands as he tried to bring the surge of power to his fingertips. When he opened his eyes, nothing was happening._

 _Adelaide pulled him up by the hair and bashed his head against the floor. He felt his skin splitting and the blood trickling down his face but he tried again to make the powers work. He wasn't even sure if they were there, but they had to be._

 _Or else, Lukov would kill him._

 _However, the boy didn't see it coming until the girl had him pinned to the floor by the neck. She became visible above him again and he gritted his teeth at the sight of the twisted smile on her face._

 _"You're...fucking...sick," he croaked, beginning to see black spots in his vision. She laughed, squeezing his throat harder._

 _"I've heard worse."_

* * *

 _DECEMBER 16, 1991_

 _LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK_

 _It wasn't something Adelaide hadn't done before._

 _But something was different this time. She had seen it in the way Lukov was behaving. And that disgusting old man that he had been with lately. She remembered Graves had told her his name but it had been too long ago for her to remember. It might have started with a K._

 _Lukov always trusted her to get the job done and get back. But the job might be bigger than what she had done in the past because Lukov had given her a partner. As if she needed one. He was a strange man. He hadn't said anything to her since she had met him. His hair was slightly longer than what most men considered acceptable. He always seemed angry to her._

 _And he had a metal arm._

 _She had been dying to ask him how that had happened, but she figured he wasn't much of a storyteller. And that might not have be one of his favorite stories either. They called him the Winter Soldier, apparently. That other man had brought him and even though Lukov seemed to trust him, Adelaide didn't at all. So, understandingly, she didn't trust metal arm._

 _But she didn't call the shots around the facility so that's why she was stuck with metal arm driving the motorcycle while she rode behind him._

 _It was dark outside. She hated when it was dark anywhere. She only had a general idea of their designation. Their mission, plain and simple, was to kill a couple of_ _important_ _people and retrieve something from them that Lukov and the old man needed. What it was exactly, she had no idea. Which she found strange because Lukov always gave her a full detail on_ _the mission_ _before he sent her._

 _Metal arm's job however, was only to drive her there and back and make sure the package stayed safe. As if she would let anything happen to something that Lukov needed._

 _Sanction and extract. No witnesses, Lukov had ordered._

 _"Do you know where we're going?" she asked loudly over the sound of the engine and the wind. She waited for an answer but she got no reply. Rolling her eyes, she sighed. At this point, she wasn't even sure if he could talk. What if he didn't speak English?_

 _Adelaide didn't get much time to ponder her questions because just then she spotted a pair of headlights coming towards them._

 _She tightened her hold on the Winter Soldier as he sped forward faster before they saw him. He steered the bike in front of them and Adelaide watched with an exciting grin as the man behind the wheel_ _swerved his car to his left, driving it straight into a tree. Metal arm stopped the bike a few meters from where the car had crashed and she stepped off, reaching for her gun._

 _"I'll take it from here," she grinned, walking towards the crash scene._

 _Inside the car was a man and a woman, both on the older edge of the scale. The man stumbled out of his seat, falling to the pavement. He was bleeding in many places. Shaking, even._

 _"H-Help my wife," he begged upon seeing her. Adelaide figured that she would. Help put her out of her misery, at least. "Please. Help."_

 _She observed them curiously. What could Lukov want from these two? Howard Stark was the CEO of a company that sold weapons, as she had once overheard in the facility. What would Lukov get by killing him?_

 _Adelaide walked over to him, pulling him up by his graying hair. He studied her face._

 _"Sergeant Barnes?" he said. So that's what his name was. As per another one of Lukov's strange orders, he asked her to change her face to match the Winter Soldier's. He had also ordered on no bullet or stab wounds. Even though she found it peculiar, she followed him. As she always did. Besides, it was pretty cool to pretend to have a metal arm._

 _"Howard!" came the woman's voice from the car. She was in pain. She would be out of it soon. Just as soon as she finished her job here._

 _Before the old man had a chance to say anything else, she slammed the back of her gun into his head twice and his eyes rolled into the back of his head._

 _She released him and he fell to the ground. One down, one to go._

 _"Howard!"_

 _Adelaide dragged him back to the car, pushing him onto the seat. He fell forward, his head hitting the steering wheel. She smiled at her artful crime scene. It was as if she had never been here to kill him._

 _Then, she walked around the car to where the woman was crying. Her turn._

 _Without bothering to look at her face, Adelaide wrapped her fingers around the woman's neck, squeezing the life out of her as she had done with other many times before. She gasped for air and thrashed around in her seat but, finally, the woman went limp under her hand._

 _Adelaide stepped back, admiring her work._

 _"Like clockwork," she grinned,_ _her eyes scanning the car for the package. She eventually found it in the trunk. She didn't care what it was enough to peek inside so she secured it under her arm,_ _looking past the car wreck for metal arm, "Let's go, Barnes!"_

 _He gave her a dirty look_ _,_ _but drove the bike over to the car wreck nonetheless. Adelaide dissolved her illusion and became the 13 year old she was again. Just as she was about to pocket her gun, something glinting among the trees caught her eye._

 _A camera._

 _She walked around the car and up to the camera. Grinning, she held her gun up and pulled the trigger. Not how she had expected to use her gun tonight, but missions were full of surprises._

 _As she got on the back of the bike with metal arm, she made a note to tell Lukov about the camera._

* * *

 _DECEMBER 31, 2013_

 _On December 16, 1991, Adelaide had been put into a cryosleep._

 _She hadn't aged a day over 13. And she hadn't changed at all._

 _The first face she had seen was a man in a white coat who she assumed was the doctor. Then she saw Lukov standing beside him._

 _"Hello, Adelaide," he smiled and Adelaide felt herself doing the same as she sat up in her_ _bed_ _. She looked around. The room was dark and dreary and there was no one else around. Lukov nodded at the doctor._

 _"But I need to run a few-"_

 _"Your service is no longer required, doctor," Lukov said briskly. The doctor nodded understandingly and gathered his tools before running out of the door._

 _Then there were two._

 _"You have been asleep for 22 years, Adelaide. The date is December 31, 2013. How are you feeling?" he asked taking a seat in a chair._

 _22 years._

 _Holy shit that was a long time. How much had she missed?_

 _"I feel...sleepy," she answered and Lukov laughed._

 _"I have a mission for you," he said after a moment and Adelaide looked at him. It had been 22 years since she had had a mission. Her last mission had been a fairly simple one. Retrieve and kill._

 _After she came back with the Winter Soldier, Lukov told her that she needed to sleep to preserve her powers and she obliged. Lukov always did what was best for her. She'd jump off a cliff if he told her to._

 _"Consider it done," she said and he smiled._

 _"This one isn't so simple," he said, a serious expression covering his face._

 _"Well what is it?" she asked, hanging her legs over the bed she had been sleeping on for over two decades. Her muscles felt sore_ _as if she had woken up after working out the day before._

 _She looked down at her hands, noticing the rugged scar running down her inner forearm. She always had hated that scar. It had all happened because of her parents._

 _"Avengers eradication," he answered._

 _"What's Avengers?" she asked, running her finger over the scar without realizing what she was doing._

 _"Oh Adelaide," Lukov smiled, standing up, "You have a lot to learn."_

* * *

 _JANUARY 1, 2014_

 _Her head was pounding._

 _Her vision was hazy._

 _Her stomach was churning._

 _And she was standing in front of the Stark Tower._

 _Why couldn't she remember how she got here? And why was everything spinning? Had she been drugged? Adelaide looked down at herself. She was invisible. Why was she invisible? Why wasn't she more surprised?_

 _Something told her to go inside the skyscraper and her legs obliged before she realized what was happening. The security guard at the door didn't stop her because the woman didn't see her. Her legs somehow knew where to take her and she couldn't get the room to stop spinning long enough to wonder why._

 _She stumbled into the elevator, holding her head as if that would keep it from exploding. No noise. No sound. She had to be silent. Her fingers pressed a button. She wasn't sure which one it was but she was relieved that she got a break from walking._

 _She fell back against the cold metal wall, stifling a painful groan. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she remember? She pulled at her hair, as every cell in her body was on fire. Everything was hurting and it was only getting worse. She felt like she was silently being burned alive_ _individually, cell by cell_ _. Nevertheless, she breathed through the pain, determined to stay silent._

 _The elevator doors opened, revealing a suite._

 _She pushed herself to her feet with much effort and stumbled out of the elevator. She didn't think she would make it any longer. Her feet led her to a bed and she reached out with her hand, trying to lean on it but the room swayed and she fell onto the floor._

 _The pain._

 _It was getting worse. She couldn't see anything but the black hijaking her vision. It was taking over her. She couldn't do it. The bed was right there but she couldn't get on._

 _She collapsed on the floor, feeling her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the dark took over. There was no more energy left in her._

 _And then she blacked out._

* * *

 _A FEW HOURS LATER_

 _When Adelaide Rivers woke up in the Stark Tower, she had no idea how she got there or why her head felt as if it was being repeatedly hit with a hammer._

 _No, she didn't know why Tony Stark's head of security, Happy Hogan, was pacing in front of her, talking on the phone in a hushed manner. No, she didn't have any recollection of anything before she opened her eyes. No, she couldn't figure out why Happy looked so worried when she began to stand up. And no, she didn't know why she felt so dizzy._

 _There was a loud ringing in her ears that she couldn't shake off and it seemed to block all other sounds. Her vision was blurry, yet she couldn't clear it up no matter how many times she blinked or shook her head._

 _At first, it was quiet. Then it got louder and louder until, all at once, her vision and hearing cleared immediately. She could then clearly see Happy forcing her to sit down as her dizziness began to fade away and the room turned right side up._

 _"Hey, hey, kid you alright?" She rubbed her forehead, begging it to stop pounding. It seemed to be screaming at her._

 _"I – what? Where am I?" she asked, dazed. Happy paused for a heartbeat, contemplating._

 _"The Stark Tower," he answered. She looked at him in dismay._

 _"What?"_

 _"Look, kid. I don't know you, you don't know me, okay? So let's start with me. I'm Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's head of security." Adelaide could do nothing more than blink at him, causing him to release a heavy sigh._

 _"...And this would be the part where you tell me who you are," he said slowly. She blinked once again._

 _"I –"_

 _Suddenly, the ringing in her ears hit her again. She pressed her hands against her ears, trying to get it to stop, when the dizziness started once again. Adelaide felt her stomach tying itself into a tight knot and suddenly, her vision went dark._

* * *

 **A/N: Now you know. Everything.**

 **...thoughts?**


	60. Chapter 57

**A/N: I'VE BEEN SO BUSY I TOTALLY FORGOT TO UPDATE and you guys didn't even remind me smh. Just kidding lol but seriously there's so much happening everyday I am going to lose my motherfreaking mind.**

 ** _Thebookworm33: Omg yes! I love Jaymes Young and Unsteady and these are both perfect songs for the playlist, I'll be sure to add them in!_**

 ** _Xoxo122124: Lmao I can't believe you waited up for the last chapter. That's awesome!_**

 ** _CocoaFirefly: IM GLAD YOU DIDN'T SEE IT COMING LMAO that means I'm not as half as bad at writing haha_**

 ** _Shion Lee: Me too, me too_**

 **Thanks to: _MarvelousM10, mattw2017, 627-OrganizedChaos, lizlil, Xoxo122124, CocoaFirefly, Shion Lee, .921, and NymphadoraBlackMalfoy for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! It means a lot to me that you guys like the story so much :)_**

* * *

 _"Tony, I need to tell you something..."_

* * *

The room was void of light.

And Adelaide was crying.

Her hands were pressed together behind her back. Her ankles were painfully digging into the leg of the chair she was sitting on. Her heart was beating in her throat and she felt like throwing up.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Lukov said. His voice wasn't coming from this room. "Hope you remembered everything well."

She bit her tongue until the taste of blood filled her mouth.

"Well?" said his voice, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

She spat the blood out of her mouth, feeling her stomach churn at the sound of his voice. Her skin was crawling, burning, scorching. She felt disgusted even by the way her arms were touching her body. She wanted to run as far away from herself as she could.

Air.

She needed air.

Why couldn't she breathe? Adelaide felt something coming up. Vomit. She hunched over, hurling onto the floor. A fit of coughs took over. There was nothing left in her stomach, but she couldn't stop gagging. She tasted bile in her mouth, eating away at the layer of protection around her teeth. Her muscles were shaking from exhaustion.

She could barely process what was happening.

The voices were spinning around in her head, taunting her. The memories kept flashing behind her eyes.

Her memories. Everything. She remembered everything now.

 _Happy birthday dear Adelaide_...

 _They want you, darling. They know that you're very special and they're jealous._

 _The girl comes with me._

 _Adelaide, I need you to kill this man._

 _Give me the money and I'll let your son go._

 _You're...fucking...sick._

 _Howard!_

 _You have been asleep for 22 years, Adelaide._

 _Avengers eradication._

He took her memories. He made her do inhumane things. Treated her like a brainwashed slave.

He had turned her into a _monster_.

"It looks like you remember your parents now," he said and she wished she could have thrown up on his face, "An unavoidable mishap but nothing that I can't fix again."

She could barely hear what he was saying over the pounding blood in her ears. This couldn't be real. This wasn't happening. Not to her.

"You will soon realize that no one is really there for you except for me. But, right now, I'm going to let you go, Adelaide," he said, surprising her.

She looked up but up and down looked the same in this pitch black room. Why was he letting her go? What was his plan? Why would he return her memories and then let her go? It didn't make any sense.

And then the light hit her skin.

* * *

"Where were you!" Natasha shouted, taking the teenager by the shoulders. Adelaide was vaguely aware that the assassin was pulling her into a hug.

"I've been looking for you for half an hour," Natasha said, pulling her away by the shoulders. The assassin searched her face, looking worried.

After Lukov had released her, she aimlessly wandered around the streets of Vienna before realizing that she wasn't that far from the conference building. Rather, what was left of it. She didn't know where Lukov was, but she knew the next time she saw his face, she wouldn't be held accountable for her actions.

"What's wrong?" she asked. The assassin patted her down, looking for injuries. Besides the one on her forehead, she was fine. Adelaide opened her mouth and then closed it.

Should she tell her? Should she tell anyone? Before she could decide, the assassin interrupted her.

"Tony's been calling me like crazy asking for you," she said and Adelaide felt a literal shock travel through her body.

Tony. Holy shit _Tony_.

Oh no. No no no no no no. What had she done? How could she have...How could she ever face Tony again?

She had killed Tony's parents.

Howard and Maria Stark. She had killed them. How did she let this happen? She had been brainwashed. Hell, she didn't even know those had been his parents when she had killed them.

"Adelaide?" Natasha said, watching her with a worried look.

 _Howard!_

 _Adelaide, I need you to kill this man._

 _Dellie...going on a vacation...HENRY! Help my wife. Please. Please let me go._

 _You have been asleep for 22 years, Adelaide. Avengers...Adelaide, I need you to kill this man...eradication._

 _They want you, darling...Howard!...going on vacation...22 years...eradication...kill this man...HENRY!_

 _H-Help my wife...let me go... kill... monster... eradication...happy birthday to you...HENRY!_

"Adelaide," Natasha said, shaking her, "Adelaide! Adelaide!"

Her voice sounded so far away.

Suddenly, the corners of her vision began to fade rapidly until she was surrounded by total darkness.

* * *

Adelaide cracked her eyes open, looking around her surroundings and beginning to panic when she realized that she was in a car again. It wasn't until she saw Natasha sitting beside her that she let out a breath of relief.

"You wanna tell me what happened to you?" Natasha demanded. Adelaide looked away. Her head was pounding like it had the day she had shown up at the Tower and it took all of her energy just to focus on not passing out again. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the headrest. She took in a shaky breath. Please, please let it all have been just a horrendous dream.

"I'm fine," she said and her voice came out as a faint whisper, "I'm just shaken up."

"Did you know?" Natasha asked, eyeing the teenager. Adelaide opened her eyes, looking at the assassin.

"Know what?"

"About the bombing," she said plainly. Adelaide was confused for a moment. Why would she think that? But then she realized – she had been the one who kept asking the assassin if they could leave because she had a bad feeling. Her face paled. Graves had warned her not to go, but she hadn't expected someone to blow up the UN. Had Graves known about the bombing or Lukov? Or both?

"No," she shook her head, "I just...had a feeling." Natasha watched her for a moment longer.

"Hm," she said, looking concerned, "Get some rest, we'll be there in an hour."

Adelaide didn't know where 'there' was, but she didn't stay awake long enough to ask.

 _JOINT COUNTER TERRORIST CENTRE, GERMANY_

"For the record," Natasha said as they caught up with Steve, "this is what making things worse looks like."

Adelaide had been too consumed by her thoughts to care about what had happened after the bombing. She was only vaguely aware that it had something to do with Steve. However, the only thing that she could think about was what she was going to do when she saw Tony.

Tony. Tony. Tony.

How would she face him after what she had done? And how the hell was she going to tell him the truth?

"He's alive," Steve said, as they approached the control room. Then, she heard his voice.

"Romania was not accords-sanctioned…"

She froze.

No no no no no. She couldn't do this. She couldn't face him.

She stopped in her tracks but the others didn't notice as they marched ahead, leaving her alone in the hallway. Feeling her breaths getting shallow, she leaned against the cold glass pane.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to breathe through her mouth. She could still hear his mother shouting his father's name. She could picture his face as he took his last breaths. She could feel the way his mother had struggled under her hand, gasping for air as Adelaide had squeezed the life out of her. She remembered every little detail and couldn't forget it if she tried.

She was a monster.

She was sick and disgusting.

How did Lukov expect her to live with herself after everything? How could she come back from that? Did she even deserve to?

"What are you doing out here?" Natasha asked, walking up to her. Adelaide straightened up, wiping the stray tears off of her face and hoping the assassin hadn't seen her crying.

"I needed some air," she lied, "Actually, I...um, I need to talk to Tony."

"He's inside, with Ross," she said carefully. Adelaide took a shaky breath. It was now or never. The longer she waited, the harder it would be. He was going to hate her, but she was left with no other option.

And in a small part of her heart, she had already lost him.

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked with a sigh, sitting down.

He looked even more tired than usual. She didn't know what had happened around here and she couldn't care less about it. She could only think about one thing and one thing only at the moment.

How was she going to tell him?

They were sitting in a transparent conference room. There was a document sitting on the table along with a couple of expensive-looking pens. She was sitting at the head of the table while Tony sat to her right. Just outside the room, Nat, Ross, and his team were working on something.

"Yeah," she finally choked out.

The moment she told him, it would be over. Everything. From the first day she had met him on January 1, 2014 to now. She would lose him. She didn't think she could bear the pain of losing him. Especially not now when she had finally learned the truth about herself. She needed him now more than ever. She couldn't fight her demons alone. She hardly was able to even process everything into this new life of hers. All she could think about was that one night.

That night that she had killed Tony Stark's parents.

Lukov had killed her parents. She didn't think she could ever _ever_ forgive him. Hell, she could never even _consider_ forgiving him. Would Tony never forgive her, then? Could she live with herself if he didn't? The man who had given her everything...was this how she was supposed to repay him?

Only last week she was thinking how grateful she was to have him in her life. She was so grateful that she didn't have to wonder what her life would be like without him. But if she told him the truth, then that wonderment might become reality.

What would her life be like without Tony?

Besides, what if this was all a part of Lukov's plan? _Avengers eradication_ , he had said. He wanted to get rid of the Avengers and he had clearly used her to do it. It made sense. It made sense that he returned her memories to her. So she would run and tell Tony and he would...he would...she didn't know what exactly Lukov's plan was, but she was sure as hell never going to do anything for that sick bastard again.

Even if it meant keeping a big secret from Tony.

For now, at least. She would tell him everything once they got back home. But right now wasn't the right time. He looked exhausted and something was clearly bothering him. Licking her dry lips and shifting in her seat, she cleared her throat.

"What's wrong?" she asked instead.

"The Accords," he sighed, rubbing his face, "Cap won't sign and Ross is breathing down my back to make him."

"Now what?" she asked. She couldn't believe she was actually talking to him about mundane problems instead of telling him the truth. But she couldn't tell him. She couldn't let Lukov win again.

"If he doesn't sign, he retires," Tony sighed.

"Oh," she said quietly, staring at the floor. Silence took over. She listened to his steady breathing unlike her own. Tony looked up, studying the teenager.

"You okay?" he asked. She looked up, catching his eyes. "You're abnormally quiet."

"I'm fine," she lied, "Just a little shaken up from the bombing."

"I forgot you were there. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" he asked, leaning forward and inspecting the cut on her forehead. She swallowed looking away.

"I-I'm fine," she answered.

 _Tell him. Tell him. Tell him._

But what if it was part of Lukov's plan? She chewed on the inside of her cheek, staring at the floor. To hell with Lukov's plan, she couldn't keep this from Tony. It was too big to hide, even if it was just for today. She had to tell him.

"Tony, I need to tell you something…" she started, holding her breath. He looked at her curiously.

This was it. She was going to tell him. Her heart was beating in her throat. She was going to push him out of her life forever. He would probably never talk to her again. She would never get to hear him make a quirky remark or make that ridiculous Stark genes joke that he always made. She would lose him forever.

She would lose another father.

"I–"

And that was when the lights went out.

* * *

 **A/N: What, you didn't expect it to be that easy, did you? Hehe. Okay so now that you've had a week to process everything, what do you think about Adelaide? Hate her yet? Also, HOW MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY SAW THAT COMING LMAO**

 ** _Question: So if I wrote a spin-off about Graves, would you read it?_**

 **p.s. what do you think of the new cover?**


	61. Chapter 58

**A/N: Good. God. I have literally had the longest week and I nearly forgot again that today was update day. On the bright side, I started rewatching Brooklyn Nine-Nine so life isn't that terrible.**

 **Side note, this chapter is a little on the shorter side, but I really don't want to finish up Civil War in like two chapters lmao so expect the chapters to be a bit shorter maybe until after Civil War.**

 **Also, I only have 1 chapter prewritten after this and it's my busy time of year so updates might be a little late, but I promise I'm trying my best!**

 _ **Tusia0095: First of all, thank you for leaving a review and I'm so glad you like this story so much! Secondly, I totally understand what you're saying and I do the same thing sometimes so no hard feelings!**_

 _ **627-OrganizedChaos: Yes please call out Steve for not telling Tony sooner that was the most un-Steve thing in the mcu ever *insert eye roll* Also, thank you for your kind words!**_

* * *

 _"Oh, yeah._

 _It'd be great if we had a Hulk right about now._

 _Any shot?"_

* * *

"Great. Come on, guys, get me eyes on Barnes. Go," Ross ordered.

Barnes.

 _Barnes_.

 _Sergeant_ Barnes.

 _H-Help my wife._

 _Howard!_

 _He's alive._

Adelaide stumbled, falling onto the console table behind her and knocking it over. Her head hit the glass pane behind her and her vision blurred, but the pain didn't register in her mind as her mind swirled in confusion.

 _Howard!_

"Adie?" Tony said worriedly, helping her up. The room spun and the edges of her vision faded to black. The billionaire studied her expression curiously. "Hey, you okay?"

"Now is not the–" Ross started.

"Save it," Tony grumbled without looking away from the teenager, cutting him off. Ross sighed, turning away to bark orders to the others.

"What happened?" he asked, rubbing her back as he helped her into a chair, "Are you okay?"

"Who's Barnes?" she asked, hoping with everything she had that she was wrong. Her voice sounded far away and faint. Tony hesitated, studying her face before answering.

"The Winter Soldier. Buchanan Barnes," he answered and her blood turned cold.

 _H-Help my wife_.

 _Howard!_

She looked up into the eyes of the billionaire, hovering over her with the most worried expression masking his face. Adelaide saw him, like really _saw_ him. This wasn't happening. She couldn't have done this. It couldn't have been her. She closed her eyes, wishing this nightmare would go away. She didn't want to lose him; she really, really loved this man with her whole existence. She bit her cheek in frustration until the taste of blood flooded her mouth again. His hand was still rubbing her back and she pulled away, disgusted by herself as tears pricked her eyes.

He was standing here, worried about her when all she could think about was his parents' last words before she had killed them.

"Go," she breathed, "I'm fine."

Tony glanced over his shoulder and Ross gave him a stern look. He turned back to the teenager, searching her face. He wanted to stay, but he couldn't ignore the sirens flashing and the rogue assassin on the loose.

"Stay here," he ordered before turning away. He would deal with her later. She watched his retreating figure as he ran towards the other man who had been there the night his parents were killed.

What if Barnes told Tony everything before she could? What if he remembered everything?

Was that the last time she would get to see Tony before he found out the truth?

* * *

Anger coursing through her veins, Adelaide padded down the dark hallways and let her gut lead her to the Winter Soldier.

 _Like clockwork. Let's go, Barnes!_

She spat blood onto the floor and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Killing Tony's parents had been just another job for her. It was no different from the dozens of others that she had killed.

She marched upwards, away from the civilians evacuating and to the terrace where she knew he would find a way to escape with no one to stop him. The sirens seemed to sear directly into her ears, but the anger she was feeling at the moment clouded her pain, judgment, and vision.

 _Sergeant Barnes?_

 _Howard!_

She gritted her teeth, her mind reeling. Adelaide didn't know who she was this angry with. Was it Lukov? Barnes? Or was it herself? She couldn't even blame Lukov for what she had done no matter how badly she wanted to. It was her. She was the one who had slammed the gun into the Howard's head. She was the one who had squeezed the last breath out of Maria. She was the one who stripped a man of his parents, of his family.

And then she spotted him as the rooftop came into her view. He was marching towards the helicopter.

She froze. Tears spilled from her eyes. She wanted to punch something, hurt someone. What better than the Winter Soldier? He wasn't Bucky right now. Not the same man she had seen in the museums, fighting alongside Captain America. He was just another pawn of HYDRA, another weaponized human like her. And she knew that she had to stop him from leaving.

Adelaide lunged forward, knocking him over and twisting his arm behind his back. His metal arm shot out, searching for her throat. She skillfully avoided him, further twisting his arm. He attempted to stand up, rolling her over to the side in the process. She grunted, trying to keep her hold on his arm, but he pulled away and scrambled up. He raised his metal arm to bring it down on her throat, but she rolled away just in time. Once again, he tried to pound her with his arm, but she tumbled forward, putting a little distance between them.

She caught sight of his face as she tried to catch her breath. He looked the same he had 25 years ago.

He raised his arm to throw a punch, but when he saw her, he hesitated.

It was only a fraction of a millisecond, but he had hesitated, she saw it. He looked like he was trying to place her in his mind.

But then, he lunged forward, trying to punch her face and she ducked away grabbing his arm to stop him. He used his other arm to punch her jaw and she fell to the ground, cupping her face which was now throbbing in pain.

He took this as an opportunity to make a beeline for the helicopter and he had already boarded it before she could get a hold of herself to stop him.

Suddenly, someone ran past her, towards the helicopter which was now lifting into the air.

Adelaide gaped as she watched Captain America hold onto the rails of the helicopter to keep it from flying off. She knew she should help but there was nothing she could do. The helicopter dragged him to the edge of the helipad, almost pulling him down into the river.

Suddenly, Steve was pulled over the edge, but he gripped the rail around the helipad to hold himself down. Adelaide wasn't sure if he would be able to last. However, to her utter shock, the helicopter was slowly coming down.

Holy shit, the helicopter was coming down.

She scrambled off the helipad, stumbling once. She jumped off just before she heard the sound of the blades slamming the ground. She looked between her hands, only to see Steve being held by the throat.

"Steve!" she shouted in panic. Where were the others? Why was Steve fighting the Winter Soldier by himself? She scrambled up, looking around frantically. There had to be _something_ she could do.

And then, to her horror, the helicopter went over the edge, taking Steve and the Winter Soldier along with it.

* * *

"Where the hell are they, damn it!" Ross boomed in face.

"I-I don't know," she said, still shaken up by what had happened. Everything was happening too fast, she could barely breathe. It didn't seem that only two hours ago, Lukov had returned her memories to her. That felt like months ago.

"That's enough," Tony told the secretary. He was standing on the other end of the room with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the floor. Natasha was standing not too far away from the billionaire, looking deep in thought.

"Listen here," he said quietly, leaning down to eye level with her, "If you don't want your precious Steve Rogers to become government property, then I suggest you tell me where the hell they disappeared to."

"Ross…" Tony started.

"I said I don't know!" she shouted, backing away from him. God, she was shaking. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Why couldn't everyone just leave her alone and _shut up_ for two goddamn minutes? She felt like her head was about to explode. She needed to sit down or she was going to pass out again.

"Bullshit! You saw him last!" Ross shouted, pounding his fist on the table.

"I said that's enough!" Tony shouted, pushing himself off the wall.

For a moment, the only sounds that could be heard were the heavy breathing of the four of them. Adelaide dared to look at Natasha who was already watching her with a curious look.

"She _said_ she doesn't know," Tony finally said, his voice strained. Adelaide sat into a chair, holding her head in her hands. The headache was only growing with everything going on. Just when she had thought things couldn't possibly get worse, the Winter Soldier had to show up.

"And I don't suppose you have any idea where they are?" Ross breathed, turning to the billionaire. Tony sighed and then looked at the Secretary of State.

"We will. GSG-9's got the borders covered. Recon's flying 24/7. They'll get a hit. We'll handle it," he assured him. Natasha didn't think the Secretary was going to buy it. She almost didn't want to know what he had in mind if they couldn't find Steve and Sam and Bucky.

"You don't get it, Stark," Ross said, shaking his head, "It's not yours to handle. It's clear you can't be objective. I'm putting Special Ops on this."

"What happens when the shooting starts? What, do you kill Steve Rogers?" Natasha asked. The question hung in the air like a plague.

"If we're provoked," Ross said, glancing at Adelaide, "Barnes would've been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers."

 _Eliminated_. Is that what they would do to her if they found out who she really was?

"There are dead people who would be alive now," Ross continued and Adelaide felt something sick churning in her stomach, "Feel free to check my math."You're not going to solve this with boys in bullets, Ross. You gotta let us bring them in," Tony argued, taking a seat beside the teenager. Adelaide resisted the urge to shrink away from him. Ross glanced at him.

"How would that end any differently from the last time?" he asked.

"Because this time, I won't be wearing loafers and a silk shirt. 72 hours, guaranteed."

Ross studied the billionaire's expression carefully before glancing at the assassin sitting behind him. He nodded.

"36 hours. Barnes. Rogers. Wilson," he ordered, marching out of the office."

"Thank you, Sir," Tony called out after him. Adelaide let her head hit the back of the chair, letting out a breath. She closed her eyes.

"My left arm is numb, is that normal?" Tony asked her. Adelaide found the words stuck in her throat so she opted for a shrug. Natasha walked over to them, placing her hand on the billionaire's shoulder.

"You all right?" she said.

"Always," he answered easily. The assassin and billionaire both looked at the teenager.

"Yeah, same," she croaked. Natasha opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it instead. Adelaide wasn't sure if she was relieved or not that she hadn't pried. She didn't know how much longer the assassin would let her off the hook before she started asking questions.

"36 hours, jeez," Tony said, rubbing his left arm.

"We are seriously understaffed," Natasha sighed.

"Oh, yeah. It'd be great if we had a Hulk right about now. Any shot?" Tony asked. Adelaide glanced at him.

"No. You really think he'd be on our side?" Natasha smiled, reading the teenager's mind.

"No."

""I have an idea," Natasha suddenly spoke up, catching Adelaide's eye.

"Me too," he replied, "Where's yours?"

"Downstairs…" she said, watching the billionaire curiously, "Where's yours?"

Tony smirked.

* * *

 **A/N: IT'S HAPPENING IN THE NEXT CHAPTERRRRRR! MY FAVORITE RELATIONSHIP IN THE MCUUU!**

 _ **Question: If you could say one sentence to the whole world at the same time, what would it be?**_


	62. Chapter 59

**A/N: Hey would you look at that, I'm uploading and it's not 12 am hehe**

 **Sooo I've had a relatively crappy week but it's gonna be okay cause fall break is almost here and I just gotta get through tomorrow so *fingers crossed***

 **Anyway, this chapter is longer than the last couple ones and there are some original scenes in here and thank God for it cause writing movie scenes is kinda boring ngl. I've been procrastinating writing the last few chapters of Civil War and started writing the ones after because I like writing original stuff :) Also, I really like putting Adelaide through shit and fair warning everything after Civil War is ANGST ANGST ANGST.**

* * *

 _"Hello, Mr. Parker."_

* * *

 _QUEENS, NEW YORK_

Peter had just tumbled through the window into his room after another late-night outing as Spider-Man.

Pressing the spider symbol on his suit, he let it loosen around him before tugging it off and tossing it in the back of his closet. He knew he had thrown his pajamas somewhere on the bed so he blindly searched for them in the dark until his hands touched something soft.

Just as he popped his head through the hole of his shirt, he caught a glimpse of the analog clock sitting on his desk, glowing numbers bright red in the darkness of his room. 2 am. Yikes. He still had to go to school tomorrow. He really needed to find a way to fit school into his Spider-Man schedule soon.

As he made his way to his bed in the dark, his foot caught on his backpack strap on the floor and he fell face-first onto his bed with an _oomph!_ Groaning quietly, he pulled his foot out of the strap and crawled under his covers, closing his eyes as his head hit the pillow softly. Today had been a long day.

In all honesty, every day without Ada had been a long day.

He didn't know how or what magic she had worked on him, but being mad at her was punishing him more than it was probably her. He let out a sigh, rolling his head to the side and staring at the shadows on the wall coming from the window. What she did...was wrong. But had he done something wrong by cutting her out of his life? He hadn't even seen her at school for three days now. It felt so much longer. Time passed differently without her.

Before, when the roles were reversed and she was angry with him, he didn't feel this way. Even though she was mad, she was still always _there_. At school, in his mind, every night on the rooftops of Manhattan. But now...it was like the past year and half hadn't even happened. He had ended it. It was over.

Then why couldn't he let go?

Suddenly, he heard the sound of the tv playing from the living room. His eyes shot to the analog clock across from him. It was still 2. In the morning. What was May doing awake at 2 in the morning?

He decided that he should go and make sure she was okay. He slipped out from under his covers, making sure to not let his head hit the bottom of the top bunk as he stood up and slipped on his loafers. Yawning and rubbing his eyes in attempt to look like he just woke up, he stepped out of his room, peeking down the hallway.

"May?" he croaked. No answer.

Yawning for real, he walked towards the living room. The lights were off, but the tv was on. Peter squinted at the screen. Aunt May was watching some horror movie he had seen in theaters two years ago, curled up on the sofa with a throw covering her legs. She didn't notice him standing at the end of the hallway there.

"What are you doing up, Aunt May?" he asked.

She jumped six feet off the sofa, throwing a hand over her heart before she realized it was only Peter.

"Jesus, Peter, you scared me," she breathed, her heart beating slightly faster now. Peter gave her a crooked smile, shrugging with one shoulder.

"Maybe you shouldn't watch horror movies at 2 in the morning," he smiled, sitting down beside her. She sighed, muting the tv but letting it keep playing in the background. The movie was about a zombie apocalypse that scientists had accidentally started.

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted, "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, er, I guess I couldn't sleep either," he shrugged. He didn't like lying to Aunt May, but telling her the truth might just be the worst idea he's ever had.

"Nightmares again?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.

"No...you?" he asked, watching her expression carefully. She looked away and Peter pulled his lips into a thin line. "May."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she told him, waving her hand and watching the tv.

"You said they stopped," he argued.

"They did. I just...I don't know. Some nights are hard, you know?" she said quietly. Peter nodded, understanding. He knew the feeling very well. It was like he felt uncomfortable in his own room. He had the urge to just go out and do _something_. It had almost been six months since Uncle Ben had died and he would be lying if he said that it had gotten any easier.

It was one of the reasons he loved being Spider-Man so much. It was an escape from reality. His reality. But May didn't have anything like that to keep her mind off of things. She was swimming in her thoughts everyday. At first, Peter had been worried that she would break. But she fought through and now, here they were, six months later, still an incomplete family.

A silence passed between them and they both absentmindedly watched the muted tv.

"Some days I forget he's gone," she suddenly spoke up, "and in the back of my mind, I'm thinking he's just in the bedroom reading or I walk into the house, expecting it to smell like his cooking or I look in the fridge and almost shout for him to go to the grocery store because we're out of milk.

"And some days...some days I wish we could be the kind of family who got lucky. That he barely made it alive that night and I wish there were ambulances and hospitals where I would sit outside the surgery room, having something to hope for. And the doctor would come out and tell me that he was hurt but he was going to be okay and I would see him when he woke up. I would hold his hand and just sit there and look at him, memorizing every little detail that I might have missed in the years that we were together. And every year when that day came where he would have almost died, we would have a tradition where we spend the day together as a family to remember what we almost lost.

"And...even if that's too much to ask for, I only want one more moment with us together as a family and I can tell him that he did good while he was here and I'll take care of us now. Or only just one moment where I can see him breathing, alive so I can remember that and not the sight of his coffin lowering into the ground...But we're not one of those lucky families and every year that day, we're only going to remember what we lost that night."

She let out a shaky breath and the sound seemed to pierce right through Peter's heart.

He furiously wiped at the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He couldn't cry about this again. He had patched it up and stowed it away in his mind.

"I'm sorry May," he whispered shakily, causing her to look at him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He was shaking on the sofa, barely able to control his breaths.

It was his fault. He was given the chance to save him. He was given many chances to save him. If had just gone to the library that night. If he had just stopped the thief when he had had the chance. If he had just...done something differently, maybe he would still be here today.

"It's not your fault, Peter," she said carefully, tears brimming her own eyes.

And then he broke. May wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to herself as he shook with sobs. She wiped her own tears with the back of her hand. This boy had lost so much. He didn't deserve any of it. And it saddened her that there was nothing she could do to help him.

So she just held him tighter and let him cry to his heart's content.

That night, Peter fell asleep to the sound of Uncle Ben's voice.

" _Peter, I know things have been difficult lately and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling...ever since you were a little boy, you've been living with so many unresolved things. Well, take it from an old man, those things send us down a road...they make us who we are. And if anyone's destined for greatness, it's you, son. You owe the world your gifts, you just have to figure out how to use them and know that wherever they take you, we'll always be here. So come home, Peter. You're my hero and...I love you."_

* * *

The first thing Peter saw before he even stepped off the bus was the bright red Tesla parked by his apartment building.

"Woah…" Ned breathed beside him, "Whose car is that?"

"I have no idea…" Peter said, almost stuck in a trance. He could only ever dream of seeing a car like that in person, let alone see it parked by his apartment complex. He considered taking a picture with it. Maybe they would put his picture in the newspaper.

"Man, Peter, if you become friends with whoever owns that car, don't forget about me, okay?"

"That's a big if, Ned," Peter replied, walking over his friend's feet and into the aisle.

"Good luck," he heard Ned say behind him as he walked down the aisle towards the door. He could hear everyone mumbling about the sweet ride parked there. He stepped onto the pavement and stood there, staring at the car as the bus drove off behind him. Looping his thumbs under his backpack straps, he pulled out his headphones from his pocket and started walking towards the building. Whoever's car this was, they better move it before someone carnapped it.

Whistling to the tune of the song playing in his headphones, he walked into the elevator. Moments later, the elevator dinged and he stepped onto his floor, reaching for his keys in his back pocket. He slid the keys into the keyhole and walked inside, closing the door behind himself.

"Hey May," he said without looking in her direction, He tossed his backpack and keys onto the table as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," she greeted, "How was school today?" He pulled a headphone out of his ear.

"Okay. There's a crazy car parked outsid…" He trailed off, forgetting the rest of his sentence along with his own name.

"Hello, Mr. Parker," Tony greeted.

"Um…" he started, gaping at the billionaire sitting on his couch, "Wha...What...What're you doi...Hey! Uh, I'm-Im-I'm Peter."

"Tony."

"What are...what are you-what are you-what are you doing here?"

"It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?" Mr. Stark asked him. Peter frowned. Emails? What emails? But he saw the expression on Mr. Stark's face and quickly caught on.

"Yeah," he breathed, "Yeah."

"Right?"

"Regarding the…" he said, looking to the billionaire for an answer. However, May spoke up first.

"You didn't tell me about the grant," she said with an excited grin. Peter glanced at Mr. Stark.

"About the grant," he agreed.

"The September Foundation," Mr. Stark said.

"Right," Peter said, never having heard of this September Foundation grant before until now. He had no idea what was going on, but he was just playing along.

"Yeah. Remember when you applied?" Mr. Stark asked him. Peter could feel May watching him carefully.

"Yeah," Peter lied.

"I approved, so now we're in business," Mr. Stark said.

"You didn't tell me anything," May told him, turning on the sofa to face him, "What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?"

"Why, I just, I just…" Peter racked his brain for an excuse, "I just know how much you love surprises, so I thought I would let you know...wh...anyway, what did I apply for?"

"That's what I'm here to hash out," Mr. Stark said casually as if they were discussing the weather.

"Okay," Peter breathed, trying to convince himself that this wasn't a dream and that Iron Man was really sitting on his sofa eating walnut loaf and talking to his aunt, "Hash, hash out, okay."

"It's so hard for me to believe that she's someone's aunt," Mr. Stark told Aunt May who laughed.

"Yeah, well, we come in all shapes and sizes, you know?" she told him with a smile.

"This walnut date loaf is exceptional," he complimented. Peter watched both of them like he was watching a ping-pong match. He shook his head. He still had so many questions.

"Let me just stop you there," Peter said and the billionaire turned to him.

"Yeah?"

"Is this grant, like, got money involved or whatever? No?" he asked, crossing and uncrossing his arms. What was the right way to stand in front of Mr. Stark? Did he look mean if he crossed his arms? Was he making an angry face? Oh no, he was making an angry face.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Yeah?" Peter breathed. This was no doubt the best day of his life. A grant from Mr. Stark? Hell yes!

"It's pretty well funded," the billionaire shrugged. Peter nodded in awe.

"Wow," he said, feeling slightly lightheaded.

"Look who you're talking to. Can I have 5 minutes with him?" he asked May.

"Sure," she agreed enthusiastically.

* * *

 _PARKING GARAGE, JOINT COUNTER TERRORIST CENTRE_

"You're not gonna pass out on me again, right?" Natasha asked the teenager with a small smirk. Adelaide did not share her humor.

"I'm fine," she mumbled back, looking ahead as they waited for their recruit. After their little regrouping in the office upstairs, Tony left for Queens in a hurry. Their conversation went a little something like this:

" _Where are you going?"_

" _Queens."_

" _Oh."_

" _Wanna join me? I know I can't coax you to stay home, but it'd be nice to have a little company on the plane ride."_

 _Adelaide couldn't imagine spending a plane ride with him. She would pass out again from the anxiety. After they found Steve, she would sit him down and tell him the whole truth. Whatever happened after that, she would have no choice but to accept it. But she had to tell him before Lukov's plan succeeded. She had to._

" _I...think I should stay here with Nat," she answered, running her hands through her hair nervously._

" _Okay," he shrugged, "Didn't you wanted to tell me something?"_

 _Adelaide swallowed, not being able to meet his eyes. Her palms began to sweat._

" _N-Nothing. I'll just tell you later."_

"It's just a matter of time," a voice said, making the assassin and teenager both turn around, "Our satellites are running facial, bio-metric, and behavioral pattern scans."

T'Challa and his security detail stopped in front of him. He gave the assassin a curious look.

"Move or you will be moved," the woman beside him said, stepping forward threateningly. Natasha didn't flinch. Instead, she gave her a small smile.

"As entertaining as that would be…" T'Challa smirked, nodding at the woman to give them space.

"You really think you can find him?" Natasha asked. He glanced at Adelaide with a knowing smile before answering.

"My resources are considerable." He walked past the assassin towards his car.

"Yeah, it took the world 70 years to find Barnes...so you could probably do that in about half the time," Natasha said, turning around. T'Challa stopped, facing her. The gears were spinning in his head.

"You know where they are," he said.

Natasha smirked, "I know someone who does."

* * *

"As walnut date-loaves go, that wasn't too bad," Mr. Stark said as he spit it out into the trash can by the door.

Peter actually couldn't believe his own eyes. Mr. Stark was actually standing in his room! He considered he was dreaming.

"Whoa, what do we have here?" he asked as he saw Peter's desk, "Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?"

"Uh, the garbage, actually," Peter answered. He found things when he was swinging around sometimes so he kept them.

"You're a dumpster diver," Mr. Stark stated and Peter suddenly realized why he was here in the first place. He was still very confused about the grant thing. He knew he hadn't applied so why had Mr. Stark said that he did?

"Yeah, I was...anyway, look, um, I definitely did not apply for your grant," he said.

"Ah-ah! Me first," he interrupted.

"Okay," Peter mumbled, his mind swirling.

"Quick question of the rhetorical variety," he said, pulling out his phone. He held it up for Peter to see, showing him the clip where he had stopped that car from running into a bus that one morning, "That's you, right?"

"Um, no," Peter stuttered, crossing his arms across his chest, "What do you-what do you mean?"

He appeared calm on the outside, but inside, his mind was going, HOW DOES HE KNOW!

"Yeah. Look at you go. Wow! Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That's not easy. You got mad skills," Mr. Stark said. Peter walked past him, fumbling to find something to do so he wouldn't see his hands shaking.

"That's all-That's all on YouTube, though, right?" he stuttered, "I mean, that's where you found that? Because you know that's all fake. It's all done on the computer."

"Mhmm," Mr. Stark said. He didn't sound entirely convinced.

"It's like that video. What is it?" He was pulling at loose threads here, trying to find anything – anything at all – to use as an excuse.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," Tony said, looking up at the ceiling, "Oh, you mean like those UFOs over Phoenix?"

"Exactly," Peter breathed, relieved. Suddenly there was a loud sound and a flash of red. Peter dove to cover it before he even knew what was happening.

"Oh, what have we here?" Mr. Stark said.

"Uh...that's a…" Peter trailed off. There was no point in lying.

"So," Mr. Stark said, "You're the...Spider...ling. Crime-fighting Spider...you're Spider-Boy?"

Peter sighed, "S...Spider-Man."

"Not in that onesie, you're not," Mr. Stark shook his head. Peter frowned.

"It's not a onesie," he defended and then sighed again as he walked past the billionaire, "I don't believe this. I was actually having a real good day today, you know, Mr. Stark. Didn't miss my bus, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there and...Algebra test. Nailed it!"

"Who else knows?" Mr. Stark asked, "Anybody?"

Peter glanced at him. Then he looked away with a sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his girl problems with Mr. Stark.

"Nobody," he lied. Mr. Stark raised his eyebrow, glancing at the door.

"Not even your...unusually attractive aunt?" he asked and Peter stood up straighter.

"No," he said, "No, no. No, no. If she knew, she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out and–"

"You know what I think is really cool? This webbing," Mr. Stark said, holding up a capsule filled with webbing. He tossed it at Peter who caught it without looking, "That tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?"

"I did," he said, tossing it back into the hamper.

"Climbing the walls, how you doing that?" Mr. Stark asked, examining the suit, "Cohesive gloves."

"It's a long story," Peter sighed quietly, "I was uh–"

"Lordy! Can you even see in these?" Mr. Stark asked, holding up his eye gear. Peter walked over to him, taking it from his hands and putting it safely back into the hamper.

"Yes. Yes, I can! I can. I can-I can see in those. Okay?" he stuttered, "It's just that…when whatever happened, happened...it's like my senses have been dialed to 11. There's way too much input, so...they just kinda help me focus."

"You're in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom. 100-point restoration. That's why I'm here. Why you doing this? I gotta know. What's your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning?"

Peter sighed, sitting down on the bed, "Because...because l've been me my whole life, and l've had these powers for 6 months."

"Mhmm."

"I read books, I build stuff...and–and yeah. I would love to play football. But I couldn't then so I shouldn't now," he answered honestly. It was true. He would love to play sports and watch all the guys' faces who had bullied him as he beat them at everything. But even though his physique had changed, his morals hadn't.

"Sure," Mr. Stark agreed, "because you're different."

"Exactly. But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not," Peter took a deep breath before continuing, "When you can do the things that I can, but you don't...and then the bad things happen...they happen because of you."

"So you wanna look out for the little guy?" Mr. Stark asked, sounding genuinely intrigued, "You wanna do your part? Make the world a better place, all that, right?"

"Yeah," Peter said, catching his eyes, "Yeah just looking out...for the little guy. That's–that's what it is." Mr. Stark stood up and looked around the room. He walked over to the bed and glanced at him and his leg.

"I'm gonna sit here, so you move the leg," he ordered before sitting down. He gave Peter a pat on the back before he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, "You got a passport?"

"Uh, no," Peter laughed, "I don't even have a driver's license."

"You ever been to Germany?" Mr. Stark asked. Peter gave him a strange look.

"No…"

"Oh, you'll love it," he said casually.

"I can't go to Germany!" he blurted before realized why.

"Why?"

"I got...homework," he said quietly. It was true.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that," Mr. Stark said, looking away.

"I'm–I'm being serious! I can't just drop out of school!" he argued. Mr. Stark barely seemed to hear a word.

"Might be a little dangerous," he shrugged, standing up, "Better tell Aunt Hottie I'm taking you on a field trip." In a flash, Peter stood up and shot out a web, effectively webbing Mr. Stark's hand to the doorknob.

"Don't tell Aunt May," he warned. Mr. Stark gave him a knowing look before rolling his eyes.

"Alright, Spider-Man. Get me out of this," he ordered. Peter dropped his anger.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I'll get the scissors."

* * *

 **A/N: Sooo a lot of things happened. That first scene wasn't really planned but I figured since I never really showed Peter's side of the story with the Uncle Ben revenge thing, I should slip in a quick scene for that. Anyway, so now you know why Peter feels like he can never forgive Ada — cause it's not just about him, it's also about Aunt May.**

 **BUT HE FINALLY MET TONYYYYYYYYYY. IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THJS FOR THE LONGEST TIME AND WRITING THIS SCENE MADE ME SO HAPPY. ITS THE START OF SOMETHING NEW, PEOPLE.**

 **Buuttt, you know things can't stay happy for too long ;) What's gonna happen when Tony finds out the truth about Adie? Nothing good, that's for sure.**

 _ **Question: Do you guys like Tom's new haircut? I think it's true love when you think a guy still looks cute even after he gets a haircut so I'll be sending out the wedding invitations soon ;)**_


	63. Chapter 60

**A/N: Kinda short, but at least I got it out on time ;) Edit: Apparently I wrote all this up and then I forgot to upload this? Whoops :|**

 **So my fall break just ended and now I gotta get to the stretch until Thanksgiving. Thankfully, my semester isn't too bad this year so I think I'll survive. On the bright side, I got accepted into the University I wanna go to! I'm so excited to get out of this dead end town next year and who knows? Maybe this time next year, I'll be uploading a chapter from my dorm room haha. How cool is that?**

 **Anyway, this is the chapter you didn't know you needed ;)**

 _ **MarvelousM10: Haha, I think telling everyone to read Percy Jackson is a great idea**_

 **Thank you to: _mangamak, dhnysports88, makoto-touchmebana, ddsurvivor, MarvelousM10, and Lady Lucky Heartfillia_ for following/favoriting or leaving a review! You guys are awesomeeee!**

* * *

 _"I'm setting boundaries._

 _No romance while fighting a battle at the airport."_

* * *

 _LEIPZIG/HALLE AIRPORT_

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport," Tony told Rhodey as he glanced at Steve, "Don't you think that's weird?"

"Definitely weird," Rhodey replied without missing a beat. They were at the airport with 24 hours left to bring Steve, Sam, and Barnes in. If they let him leave this airport now, they would never catch it. It was now or never.

"Hear me out, Tony," Steve tried, stepping forward. He really didn't want to fight anyone if he didn't have to. He was hoping Tony would understand. "That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this."

 _What doctor?_

Suddenly, a black shape jumped over a truck, elegantly landing beside Steve. T'Challa nodded at the super soldier in greeting.

"Captain."

"Your highness."

"Anyway," Tony said, "Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?"

"You're after the wrong guy," Steve sighed, trying to reason with the billionaire.

"Your judgment is askew," Tony argued, "Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday."

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't." He was running his last excuses now. He needed Tony to understand.

 _Five more super soldiers just like him?_

Five more super soldiers like Barnes? And who was the doctor? Why was he after the super soldiers?

"Steve," someone suddenly said and Steve looked to his other side to find Natasha standing there, "you know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?"

"Please just come with us," Adelaide reasoned, appearing beside Tony. The faster they wrapped this up, the quicker they could go home and the quicker Adelaide could tell Tony everything before Lukov.

"All right, I've run out of patience," Tony sighed, cupping his hands around his mouth, "Underoos!"

Suddenly, something shot out, snatching Steve's shield and tying his hands together. Adelaide heard a loud thump on the bus behind her.

"Nice job, kid," Tony said.

"Thanks," a voice behind her said and her eyes widened as she stared at the web on Steve's hand. She couldn't look away, she couldn't even blink.

 _Where are you going?_

 _Queens._

"Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit...Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's-It's perfect. Thank you."

 _Fuck._

This was not happening. Not right now. Not to her. Fuck. Fuck _. Fuck._

Very slowly, Adelaide dared to turn around, only to find a boy from Queens in a painfully familiar red and blue spandex suit.

Her lips parted. He was really here.

It was Peter freaking Parker.

Tony had really brought him here. He looked at her and curiously cocked his head to the side.

"P-" she started.

"You're the Blue Phantom, right?" he asked and his name got stuck on her tongue. Of course. She was her alias right now. He didn't know who she was.

Adelaide didn't know what to feel – her mind was swirling.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation," Tony interrupted, "Spider-Man, Blue Phantom. Blue Phantom, Spider-Man."

Adelaide could barely hear what he was saying. She felt like a needle lost in a haystack. Holy shit, this was not happening right now.

"Nice to meet you," he said and Adelaide resisted the urge to laugh – something she hadn't wanted to do for a while now.

Of course Peter wouldn't forget his manners even if he had just snatched Captain America's shield. Of course Peter was the one who would make her want to laugh even after she had found out that she was a murderer.

"Cap...Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man," he stuttered.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just..." Tony started.

"Hey, everyone," Peter said with a small wave. Adelaide bit back a smile. Dorky as always.

"...good job," the billionaire finished with a sigh.

"You've been busy," Steve noted with a small smile on his face.

"And you've been a complete _idiot_. Dragging in Clint. _Rescuing_ Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep..." he took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger, "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you signed," Steve answered calmly. Tony glared at him for a moment in silence.

"Alright, We're done," he said, starting to lose his temper, "You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys...with no compunction about being impolite. Come on."

Adelaide glanced at Natasha who was intently studying Steve. She glanced back at Peter who, she suspected, was probably grinning under his mask.

Suddenly, before she could realize what was going on, Steve shot his hands up and an arrow sliced through the air, tearing the webbing around his hands apart. Adelaide whipped around, trying to look for Clint because only he could shoot an arrow with that accuracy.

"Alright, Lang," Steve said under his breath.

"Guys, something..." Peter said and suddenly, something exploded directly behind her. She jumped, immediately falling into a defense position. Peter was recovering on the roof of the vehicle.

"Whoa! What-What the hell was that!" Rhodey shouted.

"I believe this is yours, Captain America," someone said behind her. It was a man in a red and silver suit that she didn't quite recognize.

 _"Oh, great,"_ Tony mumbled into her earpiece as he flew up, _"Alright, there's two on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff, I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Cap?"_

 _"Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes!"_ Rhodey replied, flying up behind him.

"Barnes is mine!" T'Challa shouted, taking off in a sprint towards the terminal. Steve threw out his shield, hitting Rhodey in the chest and holding him back. She heard a soft thump beside her.

"Hey, Mr. Stark, what should I do?" came Peter's voice from beside her.

 _"What we discussed. Keep your distance. Web 'em up, stick with the Blue Phantom,"_ Tony ordered and Adelaide had to keep from rolling her eyes.

As much as she wanted to 'Batman and Robin' with Peter, she couldn't explain her urge to keep her distance from him. Maybe it was because she was still trying to figure out what was going on in her own head and she couldn't deal with Peter right now. She really felt like her head was about to explode. And on top of that, she was adding the weight of the guilt of lying to Peter about her alias to the guilt of killing Tony's parents that was already weighing her down.

"Okay, copy that!" Peter replied, sounding excited, "Let's hit the terminal. I'll take the Falcon, you get the Winter Soldier."

 _Sure, let's add salt to an open wound._

"Fine," she grumbled as she ran behind him, towards the terminal.

"What the hell is that?" Adelaide heard Barnes shouting as they got closer to the terminal.

"Everyone's got a gimmick now," Sam grumbled, running inside with the Winter Soldier.

"Let's go through the window!" Peter shouted and Adelaide looked up to see what he was talking about. There was no way she could jump that high.

"Come on!" he said, holding his hand for her.

She looked from his hand to his face and she wished she could pull his mask off and see his face. She missed him and she suddenly wanted to sit him down and pour her heart out to him. He was the closest thing she had to home right now next to Tony.

"Hurry!" he shouted, pulling her out of her pitiful thoughts.

She grabbed his hand and he pulled her against himself before he shot out a web and pulled them up to the window. She watched with awe, still not over the fact that _Peter Parker_ was Spider-Man.

"Hold on, okay?" he said and a memory flashed before her eyes.

 _You're going to have to hold onto me. Closer_.

Her thoughts were interrupted as they crashed through the window. Peter shot another web and Adelaide took this as an opportunity to jump out of his arms and tumbled onto the terminal floor.

She saw a pair of feet that weren't covered in red spandex, and she pulled them down onto the floor. Barnes landed on the floor on his metal arm and Adelaide used this moment to stand up.

Behind her, Peter was tackling Sam. His falcon wing shot out and Adelaide ducked just in time. As she stood up again, Barnes came for her and she swerved away from his punch before he severed her head from her body.

"Blue!" Peter shouted, stuck in a tight grasp by Sam's hands.

Thinking quickly, Adelaide drew Barnes over to Sam, deflecting blow after blow. Then, at the right moment, when he shot his metal fist out again, she ducked away, causing him to ram his arm into Sam who dropped Peter onto the ground.

"You okay?" she shouted over her shoulder as she tackled Barnes again.

She deflected another punch, but she realized that he was cornering her and she had to find a way out fast. Then, just before Barnes hit her with a fist that she didn't see coming, Peter shot out a web to her arm and pulled her away, causing Barnes to punch the wall.

"Thanks," she breathed, looking past him.

Barnes was running up ahead.

Adelaide made herself invisible and sprinted after him. If he was here with Steve, then he couldn't be the Winter Soldier – he was just Bucky.

And she had a few questions for Bucky.

She caught up to him and tackled him from behind, knocking him onto the ground with a grunt. He rammed his elbow into her side, causing her to fall over. He took this as his chance to stand up again, but when he turned around, no one was there.

"What the hell..." he muttered under his breath.

Adelaide kicked his feet out from underneath him, causing him to fall over and she used his disadvantage to stand up again. By the time he was upright, she was waiting to punch his face and she did exactly that.

She didn't get so lucky the second time, though. He stopped her fist with his metal arm and pushed back, causing her to stumble a few steps backwards.

In the distance, she could hear Peter reciting the Miranda rights for some inexplicable reason.

She materialized in front of him, heaving as she tried to catch her breath. There was a small cut under his left eye where she had landed a punch on him. She could begin to feel the familiar burn on her knuckles.

"Why do I feel like I've seen you before?" he said. She wasn't Adelaide at the moment, but there was a chance he recognized her powers.

"That's not important. What Steve said, is that true? Are there really five other soldiers like you?"

For a moment, he didn't answer and just studied her glowing eyes.

"There are," he finally said, "The doctor's on his way there now."

"There?" she pressed, stepping forward.

"Siberia," he answered hesitantly, "He's the one who bombed the UN. If he gets to the the soldiers..."

He had known. That son of a bitch Lukov had known the UN was going to be bombed. That's why he ordered Graves to tell her to not go. She was his biggest asset, his best weapon and he couldn't let her die.

This was his plan. To turn the Avengers against each other and while they were busy fighting, he would deploy these super soldiers.

She couldn't let him win again. She had to stop the doctor before he got to these soldiers.

But before she could say anything to Barnes, something came flying towards her.

"Incoming!" Peter shouted just before he crashed into her.

She landed painfully on her back. Adelaide groaned, rolling her head to the side. No doubt that would leave a bruise.

"What the hell!" she winced. He had fallen half on top of her, half on the floor and was also groaning in pain.

"Sorry, it's just the Falcon threw me and I didn't have time to shoot a web so..." he explained and she looked at him when he suddenly stopped talking.

He was blatantly staring at her. She glared at him.

"What are you _doing_?" she scowled.

 _"I'm setting boundaries. No romance while fighting a battle at the airport,"_ came Tony's voice in their earpieces.

Peter immediately pulled away from her, almost losing his balance in the process. He looked around worriedly with wide eyes, wondering how Mr. Stark had seen him.

 _"I can see everything through the windows, bud. I'm updating the boundaries. No romance between you two, ever,"_ Tony said, _"Blue Phantom, you're going to die alone with me."_

Adelaide rolled her eyes, pushing herself off of the floor. If he still wanted that after she told him everything, then she would gladly oblige.

"Copy that," she mumbled and then she looked around. Barnes and Sam were long gone.

"Stay here," Peter ordered, noticing the same thing, "I'll climb up and scan the perimeter."

"I'm coming with you," she said, standing up. She needed to find Barnes or Steve.

"Come on," he said, holding his arm out again.

By now, it was like second nature to her. As he flew the both of them above the terminal, Peter contemplated whether or not it would be weird if he told the Blue Phantom that her hair smelled just like his friend's.

They landed on the roof with a _thud_ and scanned the airport for any signs of Barnes or Sam.

"So, are you new to the Avengers?" Peter asked, trying to make small talk. Adelaide glanced at him before looking away.

"I'm not an Avenger," she answered.

"Oh. Yeah, me neither. Mr. Stark just came to my house and ordered me to come to Germany," he laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

He knew Captain America and he knew Iron Man, but the Blue Phantom was a mystery to him. Who was she? Where did she come from? How did she get her powers? He knew nothing.

Adelaide had the urge to ask him what lie he told May but she bit her tongue, knowing that would lead to an array of questions that she didn't want to answer.

"So how do you know Mr. Stark?" Peter continued. Adelaide considered his question, her eyes darting around the airport. Where the hell did they go?

"I live with him," she answered honestly.

Although it felt nice to be able to tell him the truth for a change, she couldn't believe she was making small talk with Spider-Man while the Avengers were having a Civil War. But it was so easy to slip into old habits with Peter, that she had almost forgotten where they were and what they were doing. He had that effect on her, helping her being able to forget literally everything else in her life and sit down and spend hours just talking to him.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't missed him. But she was willing to bet he was still angry at her for what she did. However, after getting back all of her memories, she wasn't so sure that he was right to be angry at her. And she didn't know how to feel about that.

"Wait — really? I mean, you wouldn't lie about it, of course you do. So what's it like? I mean, living in the Stark Tower with Mr. Stark has to be like the coolest thing ever!" he said, barely containing his excitement.

Adelaide caught a flash of red wings behind a line of cars across the airport.

"They're over there," she said, pointing.

Peter looked where she was pointing, narrowing his vision. He glanced at the girl standing beside him and then shook his head.

"Right, job comes first," he said, almost talking to himself, "Raincheck on the convo?"

She had to put in a conscious effort to prevent herself from calling him Pete.

"Come on, Spider-Man," she said instead, rolling her eyes. She suspected he was grinning under his mask as he held out his arm.

"You know the drill," he said and Adelaide tried to hide yet another smile as she stepped into his arms.

* * *

 **A/N: Ayyyy so Spider-Man and Blue have finally met! I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter cause they make a great power couple- ahem team, I mean team. *resumes writing as Adie and Tony glare at me***

 ** _Question: Favorite villain in the MCU?_**

 ** _P.S. if you had to pick: Graves or Lukov?_**


	64. Chapter 61

**A/N: I know, I'm really late and I'm sorryy. I had a really busy week and literally just finished this chapter so I'm immediately publishing it. And I don't have another chapter written yet so I'll try my best to upload by Wednesday but I think it might just be a filler idk yet.**

 _ **CocoaFirefly: I'm glad the last chapter made your day! I'm right there with you about the tests and stress haha.**_

 _ **Guest: All 63 chapters in a day?! Wow, I could never haha. I feel so flattered, I'm glad you enjoyed the story so much!**_

 **Thank you to: _lizlil, CocoaFirefly, Guest, anythingbut456, duncanquan007, BookBugg, MoonlightWolf16, and yinaoryang2_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! Thanks for taking the time to do that, it means a lot! **

**Also, happy Diwali everyone!**

* * *

 _"_ _Give me back my Rhodey,_ _"_

* * *

"Captain Rogers," Vision said, "I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good, you must surrender now."

Steve's team had gathered on one side of the airport, with Vision stopping them from going towards the Quinjet. Adelaide and Peter joined the rest of their team on their side. She watched Steve and Barnes, her head spinning.

She didn't know which side she was on anymore and that alone was terrifying.

"We fight," she heard Steve say and she glanced at Tony.

"This is gonna end well," Natasha muttered sarcastically as they pressed forward. Adelaide drew a knife from the leg of her suit, preparing to fight back. Was she even on the right side? Was it even about the Accords anymore?

"They're not stopping," Peter said, sounding tense.

"Neither are we," Tony said and they all broke into a sprint towards each other.

Wanda shot out her hands, using them to maneuver a truck to fling it at Peter. Adelaide sprinted the last distance forward and tackled the witch, causing her to fall over. They wrestled on the ground, trying to get the other to stay down. Adelaide was only half-heartedly fighting. The only thing holding her back was the thought that if she followed Steve to Siberia, how was she going to tell Tony everything?

Wanda flipped her over, holding the teenager's hand with the knife down above her head.

"I never thought we'd fight each other again," Wanda said, struggling to hold the teenager down.

"Me neither," Adelaide breathed, "But don't worry, _Я подведу тебя легко_." (I'll let you down easy.)

The witch laughed.

"Now, Spider-Man!" she shouted and Peter swung a crate into Wanda's back, causing her to release her grip on Adelaide. Adelaide rolled away, stumbling onto her feet. But before she could get too far, a car dropped in front of her. She stopped, looking over her shoulder to see Wanda standing upright, a red glow around her hands.

Suddenly, an arrow flew by her face and she jerked back just in time. From her right, she could see Clint approaching. In front of her, Wanda was closing in fast. Peter landed beside her and they shared a knowing look before running off into separate directions.

"Can't hit what you can't see," Adelaide said as she made herself invisible. Clint smirked, holding up his bow.

"One of these have to hit," he chuckled and began firing arrows at an inhumane speed. Adelaide barely dodged them all as she tried to get closer to him. She snuck up behind him and then made herself visible just before she pressed the blade of her knife against his throat. He didn't seem the least bit surprised.

"Watch out," he grinned.

Before she could process the meaning of his words, a truck behind her exploded and she was thrown into the air from the force. She landed painfully on her back on the roof of a car. That was the second time today that she had landed on her back. She groaned, sitting up.

Meanwhile, there were two New Yorkers fighting against each other.

Captain America's shield sliced through Peter's web, causing him to fall. He landed perfectly on top of a truck, his eyes watching the shield.

"That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all," he breathed in awe.

"Look, kid," Steve said, "There's a lot going on here that you don't understand."

"Mr. Stark said you'd say that. Wow," he grinned, shooting out a web at the super soldier's feet and dragging him across the ground towards him.

Peter slid himself towards Captain America and kicked him backward before rolling away.

"He also said to go for your legs!" he shouted. His whole body was pumping with adrenaline.

Captain America stood up, running towards his shield and Peter shot a web at his hands, pulling him back with all his force. Suddenly, Captain America somersaulted and pulled Peter through the air. He landed hard on his arm, but quickly stumbled up again, shooting at his shield now.

Captain America caught the web and yanked the boy towards him, knocking him down with his shield. Peter stumbled up again and swung himself up on top of a gangway, peering down at the super soldier.

"Stark tell you anything else?" Captain America asked, squinting.

"That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you dangerous," he answered before he swung under the gangway and shot a web at him again. Captain America ducked away just in time and kicked Peter backward onto the gangway's leg.

"Guess he had a point," the super soldier said, throwing his shield at the leg and causing the whole thing to fall. Peter reacted just in time and held up the entire weight of the gangway on his shoulders.

"You got heart, kid," Captain America said, glancing around, "Where you from?"

"Queens," Peter managed to answer. He didn't know how much longer he could hold this up. Steve smiled, nodding.

"Brooklyn," he said before he jogged away, leaving the teenager to struggle to keep the gangway from collapsing. A moment after the super soldier left, the Blue Phantom spotted him. Peter rolled out from under the gangway, letting it collapse behind him.

"I'm fine!" he said, giving her a thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and disappeared behind a crate.

Just then, something really crazy happened.

"Holy shit!" Peter shouted, watching the giant man with wide eyes.

" _Okay, tiny dude is big now. He's big now,"_ came the War Machine's voice into their ears.

Adelaide ducked behind a stack of crates, hidden from Wanda for the moment. She looked up into the sky, watching with wide eyes as the giant man waved Rhodey around like he was a blade of grass.

" _Give me back my Rhodey,"_ Tony grumbled, flying up to him. Giant Man flung Rhodey to the side, but Adelaide didn't have time to process it because Wanda flew a crate into her side. Adelaide fell to the ground, clutching her arm.

" _Теперь моя очередь легко тебя подвести_ ," Wanda smirked. (Now it's my turn to let you down easy.) Adelaide realized that it was now or never. She needed to make a choice and fast.

So she went with her gut.

"Wait," she breathed, holding up her hand as she pushed herself off of the ground. Wanda cocked her head to the side curiously.

"What?" she said, the red glow flowing around her hands.

"I need...I need to go with you," Adelaide said, "To Siberia."

"How do you–"

"Not important. Please, trust me. I want those other soldiers contained as much as you do," Adelaide begged.

" _Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose, I'm open to suggestions,"_ came Tony's voice into her ear. Adelaide closed her eyes, feeling her heart give a squeeze.

 _I'm sorry, Tony_.

"I'm not going," Wanda said finally, "Only Steve and Barnes. I will help you, but if you're lying…"

"I'm not, I swear," Adelaide said, breathing a sigh of relief. Wanda must have seen something in her eyes because she nodded.

"Follow me," she said and they both began running towards the Quinjet. Everyone else was too distracted by Giant Man to notice them and Adelaide realized that he was merely a distraction. Every step got heavier as the guilt weighed down on her, but she couldn't let Lukov win again. Tony would understand, wouldn't he?

Up ahead, she spotted Steve and Barnes running towards the jet.

"Hurry," Wanda said and Adelaide began running faster, ignoring the burning in her legs. Just then, the control tower began collapsing over the entrance.

"Go!" Wanda shouted, shooting out her hands to hold up the tower. Nodding, Adelaide began running ahead. Steve and Barnes both gave her a look, glancing back at Wanda. Adelaide caught up with them.

"I'm with you," she breathed. She was probably the least likely person that they could trust at this whole airport – Steve knew that better than anyone. He knew how close Stark and the kid were and she was the last person he imagined betraying him. But he saw a fear in her eyes and he knew that if he were to look at his reflection right now, he would see the same fear. So he nodded and the three of them began running towards the hangar before the control tower collapsed on the entrance.

They just barely made it inside before the entire thing collapsed behind them.

But on the other side was yet another problem standing between them and the Quinjet. Natasha. Her eyes flickered to the teenager.

"No," she said immediately.

"I have to," Adelaide said desperately and Natasha looked at her for heartbeat longer before looking at Steve.

"You're not gonna stop," she said. Steve cocked his head.

"You know I can't," he said. Natasha sighed, shaking her head. She couldn't even get angry with Adelaide for changing sides. Wasn't she about to do the same thing?

"I'm gonna regret this," she said before she held up her fist. Adelaide glanced at Steve who was unmoving, but, to her surprise, Natasha was aiming to stun someone behind them. Adelaide looked over her shoulder to see T'Challa hunched over, clutching his abdomen.

"Go," the assassin said, looking at Adelaide. The teenager nodded, taking a deep breath before taking out her earpiece and tossing it onto the floor.

"Tell him the truth," Adelaide whispered to the assassin. Natasha nodded and Adelaide hurried to follow Steve and Barnes into the Quinjet.

T'Challa gave the assassin a judgemental look.

"I said I'd help you find him, not catch him," she smirked, cocking her head, "There's a difference."

* * *

"Hey, guys, you ever see that really old movie, Empire Strikes Back?" Peter asked as he swung webs around Giant Man.

" _Jesus, Tony. How old is this guy?"_ War Machine asked.

" _I don't know, I didn't carbon-date him,"_ Mr. Stark muttered, " _He's on the young side."_

"You know that part...where they're on the snow planet…" Peter swung around Giant Man's legs, beginning to run out of breath, "with the walking thingies?"

" _Maybe the kid's on to something,"_ Mr. Stark said and Peter grinned.

" _High now, Tony. Go high!"_ War Machine ordered. Peter began swinging around faster, tying Giant Man's knees together. Mr. Stark and War Machine powered towards his head and they both landed a blow.

"Yes!" Peter shouted, laughing as he kept swinging around, "That was awesome!"

Suddenly, Giant Man's arm flung into him, throwing him back towards the ground. He landed hard on a stack of crates and tumbled back, groaning in pain.

Holy _shit_ , that hurt.

Peter felt his vision turning blurry and dark spots clouded the corner of his vision. He squeezed his eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing pain that was riding up his back.

"Kid, you alright?"

Peter pulled away, fighting against whoever was trying to touch him.

"Hey! Get off me!" he shouted.

"Same side. Guess who. Hi. It's me," Mr. Stark said and his face went from an indistinguishable blur to clear.

"Oh," Peter breathed in relief, "Hey, man."

"Yeah," Mr. Stark said, eyeing the look on the kid's face. Tony wondered how in the world he had ended up with so many teenagers in his life.

"That was scary," Peter breathed, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah. You're done. Alright?" Mr. Stark said, looking around. Peter tried pushing himself up, ignoring the blinding pain in his back. He was sure he had broken his spine at this rate.

"What?" he said.

"You did a good job. Stay down," Mr. Stark ordered.

"No, I'm good. I'm fine!" he argued. It was probably just a spine fracture. He was fine, he could still fight. Probably. If he had enough adrenaline to help him ignore the pain. Which, speaking of, he could feel his adrenaline rapidly dropping.

"Stay _down_ ," Mr. Stark said again, pushing him down.

"No, it's good, I gotta get him back!" Peter argued.

"You're going home or I'll call Aunt May! You're done!" Mr. Stark said, getting up and walking away before he could argue. Peter tried to sit up again, groaning in pain. Did Mr. Stark have to pull the Aunt May card? That was not fair game. He needed to find the Blue Phantom again.

"Wait. Mr. Stark, wait! I'm not done, I'm not..." Peter rolled over, trying to stand up. Something sharp struck in his ribs and he immediately pressed over it with his arm, slumping down.

"Okay, I'm done. I'm done," he breathed, clutching his ribs.

* * *

Making it to the Quinjet wasn't the hardest part. It was getting it out of the airport.

Steve knew this, Barnes knew this, and Adelaide knew this too. Which was why it was silent in the jet, filled with more tension than air.

Behind them, Adelaide heard a noise. She turned around, looking through the window to find Tony Rhodey flying close behind them. Her face paled.

Steve picked up speed, setting his lips into a thin line.

Adelaide gripped the window, her heart beating in her throat. This wasn't happening. Had she made the wrong choice? Was she doing the right thing?

Suddenly, a bright beam rippled through the air. Sam easily flew up, avoiding it. But the beam directly hit Rhodey's arc reactor and he began plummeting.

"Rhodey!" Adelaide gasped. No, no, no, no, no.

Why wasn't his suit working? Why wasn't he coming up? Adelaide held her breath as she watched Tony fly after him full speed. Come on, come on, come on!

Tony didn't make it.

Rhodey hit the ground.

And then Steve flew the Quinjet out of sight.

* * *

 **A/N: I hate that last scene. It felt unnecessary :(**

 _ **Question: Who's waiting for another break from school?**_


	65. Chapter 62

**A/N: It's lateeee and I'm sorryyyyy. It's just very hard to write when school's going on :((**

 **The chapter isn't edited and I literally just wrote it so yeah**

 **Anyway, HAVE YOU GUYS HEARD THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE AN AVENGERS 5 and it's going to be like the first Avengers movie with a small villain and they're gonna build it up movie by movie to be another Infinity War/Endgame level saga. I'm so psyched!**

 **This is just a filler chapter, but happy reading :0**

* * *

 _"I'm your backup._

 _You know, in case Barnes gets_

 _stuck to a magnet or something."_

* * *

"How did this happen?"

"I became distracted," Vision answered regretfully. He watched Rhodes inside the CT-scanner, feeling confused about what he had done. But most of all, he was worried.

"I didn't think that was possible," Tony said. Vision turned to look at him and then cast his gaze onto the floor in guilt.

"Neither did I," he said quietly.

Tony stayed there for a moment as if he had something else he wanted to say, but he pursed his lips and walked away, leaving Vision to watch Rhodey alone.

* * *

"The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1," the billionaire told Natasha, "Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis."

They were standing on a balcony, looking at the row of trees across from the hospital. A beat of silence passed as the words hung in the air between them like a blaring reminder of their consequences.

"Adie's with him," Tony finally said and Natasha looked at him, "You didn't stop her." T'Challa had told him that the teenager had followed Steve onto the Quinjet. He immediately tried to locate her suit, but she had thrown her tracker away at the airport. Tony couldn't understand it. What had made her change her mind? He didn't understand why she didn't just talk to him. What could have possibly made her run off like that and how in the world was he going to find her?

"Steve's not gonna stop," Natasha said, "If you don't either, Rhodey's gonna be the best case scenario."

"You let them go, Nat," Tony said, turning to face her.

"We played this _wrong_ ," she argued. Tony chuckled, shaking his head.

"'We'? Boy, it must be hard to shake the whole double agent thing, huh? It sticks in the DNA," he mocked. Natasha felt her face heating with anger as she looked at the billionaire incredulously.

"Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one _goddamn_ second?" she breathed.

"T'Challa told Ross what you did, so...they're coming for you," Tony said, studying her expression. Natasha didn't look away.

"I'm not the one who needs to watch their back," she said, turning around and walking away. Tony watched her go and then sighed, hanging his head. He turned towards the row of trees again, wondering if he could stay here until his problems solved themselves.

The watch on his wrist lit up, projecting an image of a man who had been very clearly murdered. Apparently not, he thought and then sighed.

"What am I looking at, Friday?" he said.

 _"Priority upload from Berlin police."_

"Fire up the chopper," he muttered, marching off the balcony.

* * *

 _"The Task Force called for a psychiatrist as soon as Barnes was captured. The UN dispatched Dr. Theo Broussard from Geneva within the hour. He was met by this man."_

FRIDAY pulled up a picture of the man in question as he was captured talking to another man.

"Did you run facial recognition yet?" Tony asked, adjusting his position in his seat. He was sitting in a chopper, not the most comfortable of places.

 _"What do I look like?"_

"Uh...I don't know, I've been picturing a redhead," he shrugged.

 _"You must be thinking of someone else."_

"Must be," he agreed, turning his phone around in his hands.

 _"The fake doctor is actually Colonel Helmut Zemo, Sokovian Intelligence,"_ FRIDAY said and he flicked his phone, projecting the screen into the air, " _Zemo ran Echo Skorpion, a Sokovian covert kill squad."_

"So, what happened to the real Broussard?" Tony asked even though he knew the answer already.

 _"He was found dead in a Berlin hotel room. Where police also found a wig and facial prosthesis approximating the appearance of one James Buchanan Barnes."_

"Son of a bitch. Get this to Ross," Tony cursed, hitting the wall.

 _"Yes, boss."_

* * *

 _SIBERIA_

"Does she get one?" Barnes asked Steve. Adelaide glared at him, snatching a pistol from the rack labeled _Romanoff_ on the side.

"Yes," Adelaide said, "she does." He looked at her for a moment, smirking slightly before looking past her, at Steve. Adelaide took a deep breath, tightening her grip around the firearm. It was time.

"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve said and Adelaide turned around to find the super soldier and his oldest friend standing beside each other as if they were preparing to raid a bunker like old times. Which, they technically were.

"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Barnes asked, a smile on his face and Adelaide realized that that was the first time she had ever seen him smile.

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead," Steve chuckled, shaking his head.

"What was her name again?" Barnes asked, looking at Steve with a smile.

"Dolores. You called her Dot," Steve said and Adelaide couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She couldn't imagine the Winter Soldier trying to win a bear for a redhead named Dot. Barnes glanced at her and for once, he wasn't scowling.

"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now," Barnes sighed, a nostalgic look on his face.

"So are we, pal," Steve said, clamping a hand on Barnes' shoulder, "So are we."

Adelaide cleared her throat, "I know you two are having a moment, but we should really get going." Steve looked over his shoulder at the teenager, giving her a look.

"What are you doing here again, exactly?" he asked her. She shrugged carelessly, lifting her gun.

"I'm your backup. You know, in case Barnes gets stuck to a magnet or something."

"Right," Barnes scoffed, loading his own firearm. Steve shook his head, taking a deep breath.

The ramp descended, revealing the snowy earth as she had seen from the windows when they landed.

This was it. They were in Siberia and there was no going back.

* * *

"He can't have been here more than a few hours," Steve said as they walked up to the front door of the bunker.

"Long enough to wake them up," Barnes said, following Steve inside. Adelaide stayed quiet, almost scared that if she said something an old memory would come to life in front of her. She almost didn't want to follow them inside, but she couldn't turn back now.

Taking a deep breath, she walked inside.

It was almost unrecognizable. It had been 25 years since she had last stepped foot in here. There was a distinct smell of rotting metal and chemicals. Every footstep fazed her. How many rooms away had she killed Anderson Jones and left his daughters fatherless? Were they okay? What about the other people she had led to their deaths? The spy, the frail boy, the disloyal?

This was were she had held a gun for the first time. The place where Lukov had trained her to be his brainwashed weapon. And, like an idiot, she had followed his every order like a call from God. Everything she hated about herself, she had learned to do right here – in this damned bunker.

"Hey, you okay?" Barnes said, realizing the teenager had been falling behind. Adelaide looked at him, not being able to mask the fear in her eyes. He stepped closer, glancing over his shoulder at Steve who was standing by the caged elevator.

"It's not easy here," he said, "But forget everything and just remember what we're here to do."

Adelaide swallowed, nodding. He gave her a brisk nod and turned around, walking into the elevator. She followed him inside, holding her breath and ignoring how fast her heart was beating. They would be in and out quickly.

The elevator landed with a thud and Adelaide took in a deep breath as the doors opened. Steve nodded at her and she did the same back, holding up her gun. She carefully walked behind Steve and Bucky, covering their six as they passed by a few doors. At the end of the hall, Barnes went up the stairs and Adelaide followed him with Steve close behind.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash.

Immediately, Barnes was crouching down with his rifle aimed at the doors while Steve ducked behind his shield. Adelaide crouched down too, her finger looped around her gun. She held her breath, watching the door intently.

"Ready?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," she and Barnes said. The doors began opening and Adelaide swallowed, zeroing her vision on the door.

The doors slid open all the way. But it wasn't the doctor. It was Tony.

He walked towards them carelessly as if he was just walking through a hallway in the penthouse. Adelaide realized that her jaw was slightly slacking and she shook her head.

"You seem a little defensive," Tony said to Barnes.

"It's been a long day," Steve said, walking towards him with his shield still up.

"At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you," Tony told Barnes who continued to ignore him.

"Then why are you here?" Steve asked.

"Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe," Tony shrugged, "Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork," Steve said, finally lowering his shield, "It's good to see you, Tony."

"You too, Cap," he admitted and then he looked past her again, at Barnes, "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop–"

Steve lifted his hand, telling Barnes to lower his rifle.

Adelaide stepped down the stairs, not sure of what to say. It was strange that he hadn't even acknowledged her. She had imagined his anger through the roof when he met her. This ignoring this was making her antsy.

"How did you find us?" she asked. Tony finally looked at her as if he had just realized that she was there.

"I'll _always_ find you," he said rather arrogantly, "But that doesn't mean I'm not mad."

"What? But you said yourself – Steve's right, we need to get to these soldiers before the doctor does," she argued, taking a step forward. Tony looked at her and then looked away, taking a deep breath.

"I know. I was wrong," he admitted. Adelaide glanced at Steve who nodded at her.

"So...we're good?" she asked, holding her breath. Tony looked at her again and then nodded.

"But I swear on my lucky socks, if you run off like that again—"

"I won't," she promised and he nodded. Adelaide had half a mind to ask Tony if Rhodey was okay, but she knew this wasn't the time. It would have to wait until after.

Together, the four of them went inside.

* * *

 **A/N: So the next chapter is probably gonna be the last chapter of Civil War and then the end :) Just kidding, we're barely halfway through the story haha**

 ** _Question: Idk, you guys can ask me something. I'm too tired to think of anything._**


	66. Chapter 63

**A/N: AHHH THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF CIVIL WAR :'((**

 **Also, I dropped all of my homework to make an edit today because this chapter marks the end of something important and I wanted to be dramatic about it (which is why it's 12 am and I'm still working). Anyway, IT WOULD BE AWESOME if you could watch it. It'll be in the next chapter which I'm uploading right now!**

* * *

 _"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again,_

 _but one which crumbles from within? That's dead...forever."_

* * *

"I got heat signatures," Tony said as they made a turn around a corner. Adelaide was right behind him and Steve was behind her.

"How many?" Steve asked. Tony paused.

"Uh, one..." he said.

Adelaide frowned. There had to be more than one.

They entered a vast chamber. Suddenly, the lights came on. There were six capsules filled with a yellow haze. Adelaide narrowed her eyes, waiting for the haze to disappear

"If it's any comfort," a voice suddenly said and they all froze, "they died in their sleep."

To her horror, the soldiers inside had been killed. Each with a bullet in their head.

"Did you really think I wanted more of you?"

"What the hell?" Barnes whispered to himself, keeping his rifle up.

"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here."

Suddenly, a light appeared behind them, just enough to make out the face of a man. Steve hurled his shield at him immediately, but it hit a door and boomeranged back.

"Please, Captain," the man said, "The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets."

"I'm betting I could beat that," Tony stated.

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark," the man said, "Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve asked the man, walking up to the door. Adelaide stayed behind him, watching the man carefully.

"I thought about nothing else for over a year," he answered solemnly, stepping closer without fear, "I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized...there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."

"You're Sokovian," Steve said, his lips set into a thin line, "Is that what this is about?"

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell," the man admitted, "No. I'm here because I made a promise."

"You lost someone?" Steve asked, studying him. The man took his time to answer, swallowing.

"I lost everyone," the man said, "And so will you."

"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again," the man said, "But one which crumbles from within? That's dead...forever."

Something about the way he said those last words brought chills to Adelaide and she glanced over her shoulder at Tony who was standing in front of a screen. She walked over to him, something not settling right in her stomach. Tony glanced at her and then back at the screen.

 _December 16, 1991_ , it read.

Something was wrong. They shouldn't be here. They had to leave.

"I know that road," Tony said, watching the screen intently, "What is this?"

* * *

A bike drove by on the deserted road. There were two people on the bike. The bike drove straight towards the car.

The car swerved off the road and hit a tree. A small fire ignited in the hood of the car.

A moment later, the bike appeared again. There were two identical people on the bike. One of the two got off the bike.

 _"H-Help my wife. Please. Help,"_ Howard said. He pulled Howard's head up by his hair.

 _"Sergeant Barnes?"_ Howard said. Instead of replying, the Winter Soldier slammed the butt of the gun into Howard's head.

 _"Howard!"_

Tony's eyes snapped to Barnes, who looked back at him in guilt, barely being able to meet his eyes. On the screen, Howard fell to the ground and Tony closed his eyes in grief.

 _"Howard!"_

The Winter Soldier walked around the car to kill Maria. He gripped his hand around her throat. Expressionlessly he strangled Maria and she fell limp.

For a moment, there was absolute silence.

And then, Tony lunged for Barnes, but Steve stopped him.

"Tony. Tony," he said, holding him back. Tony scowled at Barnes. Adelaide closed her eyes, staring at the floor as the tears began to fall faster.

Tony turned to look at Steve, his eyes glistening with tears and betrayal.

"Did you know?" Tony whispered. Steve hesitated, glancing back at Barnes.

"I didn't know it was him," he finally said.

"Don't _bullshit_ me, Rogers," Tony hissed furiously, "Did you know?"

"Yes," Steve admitted.

Immediately, Tony pulled away from him. He jerked his head in a nod.

He looked down and then past Steve at Adelaide who still had her eyes cast on the ground. She looked up at him, her eyes overflowing with tears. He looked at her questioningly.

For a moment, there was nothing. And Adelaide knew that was the last moment she would get. Her eyes turned to the screen and Tony's gaze followed.

Instead of the Winter Soldier standing there now, it was Adelaide Maxwell Rivers.

Instead of the Winter Soldier, it was Adelaide's hands that were bloodied.

Instead of the Winter Soldier, it was Adelaide who had killed Howard and Maria Stark.

 _"Like clockwork,"_ the Adelaide on the screen grinned, _"Let's go, Barnes!"_

The girl caught sight of the camera hiding within the trees and grinned straight into it.

She pulled out her gun and aimed at the camera.

* * *

Tony watched the screen, stunned.

Slowly, he turned his head to look at her.

"Is this you?" he asked shakily. Adelaide couldn't answer or even meet his eyes. She bit back a sob and he took this as a yes.

"Did you know?" Tony whispered and his voice sounded gentle as if there was no way that she could have possibly done this. There was that soft fatherly tone in his voice that made her heart wrench in pain. She closed her eyes painfully.

Little did he know, that she was a monster.

He stepped forward, resting his hand on her shoulder. Adelaide didn't delay the inevitable. She looked up, finally meeting his eyes.

"Yes," she whispered painfully and he recoiled from her just as he had with Steve as if she had stabbed him. Adelaide felt a physical pang in her chest.

The entire bunker was absolutely silent.

She could hear her blood pounding in her ears. She watched Tony as he processed this. She could see the pain that one little word had caused him. He was trying so hard to not believe it, but the proof was right there in front of him.

Adelaide Rivers had killed his parents.

The girl he took in, the girl he gave a home to, the girl he had grown so close to, the girl he...the girl he saw as his daughter.

His _Adie_.

"Tony," Steve said gently.

And then chaos wreaked the bunker.

Tony's fist slammed into Steve's jaw, knocking him backwards before he even knew what was happening.

Barnes held up his rifle, aiming it at Tony who disarmed him instantly. He picked Barnes up and flew him across the chamber, slamming him onto the floor and then jumping on his arms. Suddenly, Steve's shield flew hit Tony's suit, distracting him long enough for the super soldier to slam him into the wall with his shield.

Tony caught himself easily and flew towards Steve again, pounding his fist on his shield and sending him sliding backward on the floor. Before the super soldier could get up again, Tony shackled his ankles together.

Barnes stumbled up and tried to punch Tony who just lifted him and slammed him against a machine across the chamber. Just as Tony went to punch him, Barnes twisted his fist away from his face, crushing it with his bare hands. Suddenly, a rocket shot out of Tony's suit, landing on something across the chamber and causing it to explode into a fiery ball.

Then, the whole chamber began to collapse.

Adelaide ducked under a machine, holding her hands over her head. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for Tony amongst all of the rubble, but she couldn't see him anywhere and the cloud of smoke was only thickening.

"Get out of here!" Steve shouted at her and Barnes.

The Winter Soldier took off immediately, but something kept Adelaide glued to her spot. Tony had to forgive her. And then this would all be over and they would go home together.

As Barnes was bolting across the floor, Tony took a shot at him and missed. Before he could try again, Steve jumped in front of him.

Suddenly, the overhead door began to creak open.

"It wasn't them, Tony. Hydra had control of their mind!" Steve argued. Tony propelled his thrusters, pushing himself into the air.

"Move!" Tony shouted.

"It wasn't them!" Steve repeated. Tony flew past him, but Steve grabbed ahold of his foot, keeping him from flying ahead. While holding him back with one hand, the super soldier brought his shield down onto the thruster on Tony's ankle until Tony finally pushed away at enough speed.

He landed in a corner of the chamber and lasered down rubble to keep Steve from getting to him.

Steve hurriedly looked around the rubble for the teenager. He did a double-take when he saw her face. She looked absolutely terrified.

"He's not going to hurt you," Steve said, glancing over his shoulder.

"But he's going to kill Barnes," Adelaide argued, fighting back more tears, "He didn't do it. I did."

"I know," Steve sighed, looking around anxiously again, "He's angry and he's not going to stop so you stay out of the way."

Before she could answer, Steve took off to the tower where Barnes was trying to escape from. He slid under a pile of rubble and into the tower. Above him, Tony was struggling to get to the Winter Soldier fast enough.

Suddenly, he powered a beam and Steve leaped up, covering both of them with his shield. The force of the beam hitting the shield knocked Tony backward and he fell down onto a lower platform.

"He's not gonna stop," Steve said, helping Bucky up, "Go."

Steve turned around, sliding his shield onto his back. Meanwhile, the teenager was standing at the bottom, trying to stop the two from fighting. But what could she even do?

As Tony soared upwards, Steve leaped off his platform and shot a wire that wrapped around Tony's neck, dragged him back down. They hit platforms on the way to the ground until they both landed on one, with Steve hitting a lower one. Steve, at a feeble attempt, threw his shield up at him again, but Tony easily deflected it and aimed for Barnes again. Instead of flying after him, he aimed the targeting system on his arm at him.

He fired and hit the giant hatch covering the tower. The moment it hit the hinge, the old metal began to creak and quickly started to collapse. Just in time, Barnes threw himself off.

Tony flew up to him, but Barnes was ready with a metal pipe and hit Tony across the abdomen, throwing him against a wall. He flew back, swinging his arm towards the Winter Soldier's head who easily ducked, trying to get in a blow of his own. Tony flipped Barnes around, squeezing his arm around his neck.

Then he jumped off the platform with Barnes still in his hands. Suddenly, Steve jumped up behind him and pushed them onto another platform. The three of them fell separately, with Barnes landing on a higher platform while Steve and Tony fell until they hit the cold ground.

Adelaide watched them in panic. There was literally nothing she could do. But she had to do _something_.

Barnes rolled over on his platform, looking down at her and Adelaide just looked back at him in worry.

"This isn't going to change what happened," Steve breathed. There was a moment of silence and for one small, impossible moment, Adelaide thought Tony was going to stop.

"I don't care," he breathed, "They killed my mom."

Tony lunged forward, knocking Steve down onto the snowy ground. They began throwing punches at each other and Adelaide turned to Barnes worriedly. But he wasn't there.

Suddenly, behind her, she heard a loud crash. She whipped around to see Barnes slamming Steve's shield into Tony's back. Barnes threw the shield to Steve and quickly deflected Tony's fist. Before Tony could hit him, Steve hurled his shield at Tony.

And then, they were both hitting him. Left and right, he was getting slammed. Adelaide didn't know what to do. If she helped Tony, he was going to kill Barnes and Steve. If she didn't, they were going to kill him.

Suddenly, Barnes had Tony pinned to the wall and was trying to pull his arc reactor out with his metal arm. The reactor shot out a beam, sending Barnes flying backward and to her horror, the reactor had blown off Barnes' metal arm and he was laying on the ground, unconscious.

Steve ran towards Tony with his shield held up, deflecting the smaller beam blasts until he was close enough and Tony hit him with full beam blasts from both hands, creating a collision of light.

The super soldier rolled away, catching Tony off guard, but then Steve came back, hitting Tony's suit's weakest places so quickly that he wasn't able to fight back. For a moment, it looked like Steve was finally making headway.

Until Tony stopped his shield.

He flung the shield away then blasted Steve backward, head over heels. Steve sat up, but he was running out of energy to keep fighting. Tony slammed his fist into Steve's face again and again before he flung him against the wall. The super soldier fell onto the snow, coughing.

"Stay down," Tony said, "Final warning."

Slowly and painfully, Steve pushed himself off the ground and held his fists up. His face was bloodied and he could barely stand upright, but the determination was still there.

"I can do this all day," Steve breathed.

Tony raised his hand, ready to fire, when Barnes suddenly grabbed his leg. In a moment of distraction, Tony spun around, kicking him in the face.

Steve jumped ahead, picking Tony up and then slamming him onto the concrete floor. Before he could get up, Steve held him down and began punching his face as hard as he could to get the mask off.

The mask flew off and Steve raised his shield.

"Steve!" Adelaide shouted.

Tony covered his face.

Steve brought the shield down onto the arc reactor, twisting it around to make sure he destroyed it.

For a moment, there was only the sound of heavy breathing.

Steve closed his eyes and pushed himself off of Tony before struggling up. Tony laid there trying to catch his breath. For his sake, Adelaide hoped he wouldn't try to fight again.

Steve took the shield, gripping the edge and pulling it free. He stepped away from Tony who rolled painfully onto his side. On the other side, Barnes was lying there bloodied but conscious, and Steve pulled him to his feet.

Tony watched the both of them as they helped each other. Not once did he even look in Adelaide's direction. It was like he had forgotten she was even here.

"That shield doesn't belong to you," Tony said, pushing himself off the ground.

Steve turned around, looking at Tony and then down at the shield.

"You don't deserve it," Tony spat, taking a painful step towards the super soldier.

"My father made that shield!" he shouted, taking another step. He almost lost his balance but caught himself before he fell.

Steve looked him in the eye and then nodded once. He tossed the shield to Tony, letting it slide to his feet.

Adelaide took a step forward.

"Tony–" she started, her voice shaky.

"Don't," he groaned and his voice had never sounded colder, but he could hear him pleading, begging her to stop, to leave him alone. He was tired of fighting. And the last person he wanted to fight with was her. "We're done here."

All the air was knocked out of her.

A million thoughts raced through her mind.

But no matter what she did, she just couldn't picture a life without Tony. It didn't make sense. He couldn't be serious.

"You don't mean that," she whispered, her whole body shaking. Nothing made sense. Not even Tony's words. No matter how many times she rearranged them in her head, they didn't make sense.

"Don't do this," she begged, feeling every muscle in her body screaming in pain. This wasn't happening. It just couldn't be real. Without Tony – how could she? It just didn't make sense.

"Tony, please don't – I can't, you know that," she said, taking a step towards him. He didn't move. It was almost laughable. Her life without Tony? It had to be a joke. Tony stayed silent, staring past her, not even looking at her. She was well aware of Steve and Barnes standing there, waiting for her. She was one of them now, wasn't she? Her name was at the top of the list of people who had betrayed Tony Stark.

" _Please_ ," she whispered, taking another step towards him. She could reach out and touch him if she wanted. She could fall to his feet and beg him if she needed to.

"I said we're done, Adelaide," he said without looking at her, a finality in his tone. He might as well have sliced her heart bare with a knife. Her vision swayed.

"But-But I – I...I..." Adelaide couldn't put her thoughts together into a coherent sentence. Her mind was still reeling. This wasn't happening. It didn't make _sense_.

She could live without Peter. She could live without Pepper and Happy and anyone else she loved. But not Tony. She couldn't give him up for the world.

"Tony, _please_ ," she whispered, touching his shoulder. His jaw tightened.

"Say something," she begged quietly.

"Do you even remember them?" he asked. Adelaide's breath hitched. She looked up at him, the tears cascading down her face. He didn't know who she really was. The monster inside of her ran deeper than even she knew.

"I remember all of them," she whispered.

The look he gave her in that moment would be one she would never forget. Adelaide really thought he would have been in less pain if someone had stabbed him right then and there.

He pulled away from her hand.

 _No_.

Panic flared in her chest and her face paled. He wasn't leaving – he couldn't be leaving. Not without her. She knew damn well that he couldn't live without her as much as she couldn't without him. The only question was: was he angry enough that he could?

"I can't – I can't – without you – I don't know how," she stuttered as he began walking away from her.

Her lungs were failing her. She scrambled for words, something that would change his mind.

"Tony, please don't do this!" she shouted after him, "Tony, wait!"

She ran up to him, stopping to stand in front of him. He stopped walking, looking down at her. Without another second of hesitation, she threw her arms around him, shaking with sobs into his suit.

"Please don't leave me," she begged, pulling away to look at him, "I'll do anything – anything! Just-Just tell me what I need to do and I'll-I'll do it. B-But I can't – I just can't without you. Please, please, _please_. _I love you_ a-and I know you love me too. Don't do this, I'll do anything!"

" _Please_ ," he said quietly, his voice cracking.

To her absolute horror, Tony pushed past her and kept putting a wretched distance between them with every angry step.

"Tony!" she screamed as his painfully familiar red and gold suit disappeared into the snowstorm, "Tony!"

Without another thought, she ran after him into the storm.

"Adelaide!" she heard Steve shouting after her, but nothing could stop the teenager.

"Tony!" she shouted, looking around for a glimpse of his suit. He couldn't have gone very far. He was just here a second ago. But the wind was blowing the snow so hard that it was impossible to see through the thick sheet of snowfall in every direction.

She went with her gut and ran right.

"Adelaide, stop!"

She pressed forward faster, ignoring the feeling of sharp needles piercing through her skin every time a snowflake landed on her face.

"Tony!" she shouted, shielding her eyes with her arm. The snow was starting to pile and she couldn't keep running through it fast enough.

He was just a little angry with her. He'd come back for her. He would.

Suddenly, someone grasped her arm.

"Let me go! I need to find him!" she sobbed, struggling in his grasp.

She stopped struggling and turned around. It was Steve. He looked sympathetic. She caught a look in his eyes and she thought he must have thought she was crazy. She stared at him, heaving for a moment. She took in the silence, the snow, the cold. Her ears began to ring.

And, suddenly, the look in his eyes made sense. The wind began to blow harder and everything felt colder, wider, and...bigger.

The whole world had stilled. It was like she could comprehend just how big the world was all of a sudden, and how small she was in comparison.

She was smaller than a snowflake in this universe.

Her breaths became labored, but each one was helping her hold onto a figurative rope.

She held onto Steve's steady gaze as if it was the only thing keeping her from being blown away in this snowstorm. Her mind was finally slowing down, catching up with her thoughts.

And then she was thrust into a devastating realization.

"He's gone."

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, I know, you're mad at me. *sighs and looks up at the ceiling* So am I, so am I.**

 **SO. Next chapter will probably be a very long time skip. If you didn't hate Adie yet, you will next week ;)**

 **HOWEVER, check out the next part right now for the edit :)**

 _ **Question:** **Did this chapter make you wanna cry? :((**_


	67. Tony

It had hurt him, too.

How could it have not? He had loved her more than himself. If she had asked him to lay down his life for her, he would have done it without a second thought. If she had had asked him to give up Stark industries, he would have for her. He would have pulled the ground and sky together for her.

But the one thing he couldn't do was forgive her.

And he could barely live with himself because of it. He was angry with himself for not being able to forgive her. After having spent almost every waking moment with her for a year, without her, everything seemed pointless.

The weather didn't matter, the robots didn't matter, and the day bled into nightfall. Everything was a dull, endless prison.

He missed teasing her, watching her nose wrinkle every time he made that stupid Stark genes joke. Or the nights when she gave him company so he could sleep. How her eyes lit up at the sight of chocolate.

Every corner of the penthouse reminded him of her. From the late-night movie marathons to early morning rushes. Her room that he had purposely avoided. He pretended that she was still in her room because if he saw how empty it was, he didn't think he could take it.

 _I'll always find you_ , he had told her.

But now he had lost her forever.

And he had gotten kind of used to being someone she loved.

* * *

 **Link: it won't let me put the link in so just look up "Tony and Adie" on youtube and it should be the first one there. And you don't wanna miss it :)**


	68. Chapter 64

**A/N: HIIIIII**

 **So. The last chapter happened...*side eyes emoji***

 **So my body is physically exhausted but I am JACKED with caffeine so my mind is like 'sleep what no is' and I could collapse any second! :D**

 **This chapter marks the start of Homecoming. Also, heads up that my finals week is coming up _soon_ , but lucky for you guys I was really excited about this part of the story so I wrote before I even wrote Adie's memories chapter haha. I have like 2-3 chapters written but they will be pretty short so that's that. **

**Anyway, who's ready more cryin–Thanksgiving, I mean Thanksgiving... :)**

* * *

 _"Go home before it gets dark and_

 _I have to pretend to feel guilty when you get killed,"_

* * *

 _QUEENS, NEW YORK_

 _THREE MONTHS LATER_

The soft sunlight flooded the room until it reached the eyes of a certain teenager.

"Go away," she groaned, rolling away from the window and taking the pillow out from under her head to cover her eyes. Of course, the sun didn't listen.

Then, the sound of her alarm ripped through the room, piercing her ears with its loud shrill. She groaned again in complaint, stuffing her head further into the mattress.

God, she hated the sound of that fucking alarm.

"Shut up!" she groaned, blindly searching for the stupid thing on the chair beside her bed. Her fingers wrapped around the cold metal and she threw it across the room. She heard the satisfying sound of it hitting a wall and falling to the floor which was followed by a peaceful silence.

"Thank fucking god," she breathed into her pillow. **(A/N: I am not promoting or supporting using God's name in vain so don't come for me lol!)**

Not even a minute later, she heard a series of loud horns coming from the streets followed by the sounds of her newlywed Indian neighbors fighting for the millionth time. She didn't even bother getting angry over the scratches she heard at her door.

She pounded the wall beside her bed with her fists.

"Shut the hell up!" she shouted at the couple and they fell quiet for a moment.

 _"Tu chup kara, batameez kuri!"_ (You shut up, stupid girl!) shouted the woman and Adelaide groaned, kicking her bed while still lying down. God, why couldn't they just move? Oh, that's right. Because their sole purpose was to annoy the shit out of her. Someone should let them know that they had served their purpose painfully well.

" _Manjeet, shant ho jao_ ," (Manjeet, calm down) she heard the man telling her and Adelaide rolled her eyes, pushing herself off of the bed. What a great way to start the day.

Now to deal with the relentless scratching at the door.

She marched over to her front door, avoiding the minefield of sticky candy wrappers and chips bags littering the floor. Not even bothered by how horrible her bedhead might look, she swung open her front door and the fat tan cat fell to the floor.

"Mr. Zimmerman!" she shouted, glaring down at the stupid cat which was trying to come inside.

The green door across the hall opened, revealing a bitter old man with a beard too long to be considered normal sitting in his wheelchair. Adelaide didn't bother trying to sympathize because she knew that he didn't need that wheelchair. He only used it whenever he wanted people to think that he was a poor old man who couldn't possibly be a pawn of Satan.

He should know by now that his wheelchair trick wasn't going to work with her.

"Your stupid cat escaped again," she grumbled and he looked down at his cat who was trying to claw it's way inside past her feet. Adelaide didn't flinch. Her feet had built up a resistance to cat scratches at this point.

"Oh Fontaine, c'mere boy," he called, weakly clapping his hands together.

The cat suddenly hissed, the hairs on his back and his tail rising up as it became frozen.

Adelaide sighed, dropping her head.

She picked up the stupid pet and handed him to the old man, dusting her hands.

"He broke," she deadpanned, "Again."

"He ain't broken, young lady. Besides, what're you hiding in there that my little 'Tain always comes looking for?"

Adelaide glared at him.

"The Hulk," she said blatantly, crossing her arms across her chest and the old man tried to look past her, inside the apartment.

"And if your stupid cat comes to my door again, I won't be afraid to use him," she threatened, marching inside her apartment and slamming the door. She let out a long sigh as she looked around the mess that was the apartment.

Her small bed was pushed up against the top left corner of the room, beside the window. It wasn't even a bed. It was only a mattress on the floor.

The kitchen was to the right and it didn't even come close to the luxuriousness of the Stark Tower. Beside the kitchen was a small bathroom.

There was a battered couch in front of her and an old tv across from it, just to the left of where she was currently standing. And the carpet on the floor was stained and dirty and in a dire need of a wash.

This was her life now. Filled with a screaming couple, a broken cat, a cranky old man, and pathetic apartment that looked smaller than a college dorm room.

She trudged over to the couch, sitting down on the side to avoid the broken spring. She leaned back, looking around the room tiredly.

It had been three months and Tony still hadn't come back for her.

In all fairness, she had wanted to know who she really was. She had wanted to find herself. She had wanted to be Adelaide Rivers. Well, now she was. She was finally, completely herself.

And this was it.

This was her life without Tony.

Her life as Adelaide Rivers.

* * *

If a devil and an angel had a child, then it would be her boss.

"So you're saying that you did check how many pickles we had in the back?" he smiled, "Or you didn't?"

She held back a sigh.

"I did - I checked a million times and we didn't have any," she repeated, leaning her hand against the countertop. She wiped the other hand against her apron.

"Then why didn't we order any when it was time to place the order?" he asked with another smile. It took all of her energy to not roll her eyes.

 _He's your boss. He's your boss. He's your boss._

"Because," she said, taking a deep breath, "I told Julio to order it. Why don't you ask him, Mr. Delmar?"

He deflated. "If I ask him, he'll get angry."

Adelaide raised a judgmental eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. He let out a short breath, sitting down on the stool behind him. He began petting his fat cat, Murphy, who was sitting on the countertop. Adelaide made a face. God, she hated cats. And yet she couldn't seem to escape them.

"He's worked here longer than you, you know," he defended, glancing up at her.

"And therefore he gets special treatment?" she asked. He smiled.

"You're catching on," he said and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Listen, Mr. Delmar, you can't let Julio control you like that," she said, pulling up a stool of her own. She couldn't believe she was giving her boss a pep talk. "You're his boss."

"Don't tell him I said this but," he started, looking around as if Julio would be here even when it wasn't his shift (as if – that guy was lazier than her and that was saying something), "the customers like you more than they like him."

"I'm pretty sure he knows that already," she said, giving him a blank expression, "And telling me that the customers like me isn't going to make Julio order the damn pickles."

"Okay, okay, fine! I'll talk to him. But you gotta cover his shift if he resigns. Happy?" he said, standing up. She smiled.

"Ecstatic."

Mr. Delmar was one of the few decent people who was willing to take in an inexperienced teenager as an employee. Granted, in America, the legal age to work was 16 and she was one year short of 16. However, Mr. Delmar believed that she was 16. And a half, just to be safe.

She found a man down in the Lower East Side who made fake IDs so it wasn't too hard to get a couple of fake licenses from him. A little knife action from her and he didn't press for a lot of money. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to use it to drive. Only for working.

A girl had to eat, after all.

The little bell above the door gave a ring just as Mr. Delmar disappeared into the back. Wiping her hands with a cloth, she walked up to the cash register, plastering a smile on her face as the old lady greeted her.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'd like your Monday special, please. And no pickles," she said. Adelaide gave her a stiff smile.

 _There are no pickles to not put on your sandwich thanks to Julio._

"That's 4.75, please," she said and she paid as soon as Mr. Delmar brought it out. She handed her the sandwich along with her change and receipt. The lady thanked her and left the deli, causing the little bell to ring again.

As Adelaide began wiping down the counters, her eyes flickered to the clock. It was finally closing time. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she saw the lights behind her turn off and Mr. Delmar walked out, a wrapped sandwich in his hand. He handed it to her, wiping his other hand against his apron. She took it, laying it on the countertop as she removed her apron.

"Julio doesn't get leftover subs," he pointed out as he took his apron off as well and she grinned.

"Julio doesn't close," she reminded him, taking her sub into her hand.

 _"Lo rendi troppo difficile per un vecchio come me,"_ he said, shaking his head at the ceiling and her grin widened. (You make it too difficult for an old man like me.)

 _"Ci provo,"_ (I try) she said. He waved his hand at her, emptying the money out of the cash register into the safe.

"Go home before it gets dark and I have to pretend to feel guilty when you get killed," he ordered. Shaking her head, she grabbed her purse, throwing it over her shoulder. Mr. Delmar could be a bit...a breathing-down-your-neck kind of person, but he was nice enough that she didn't constantly have the urge to slam his head against the table which she couldn't say for most people. Besides, he was the one who gave her money every two weeks so tried to suck up as best she could.

She pushed past the swinging door that separated the counter from the seating area and flipped the overhead lights off on her way to the door.

"Don't feel too guilty!" she called over her shoulder as she left the deli.

* * *

 **A/N: Sooooo what did you think? Sad enough? Just wait, just wait. It'll get sadder ;)**

 **Also, did you guys know that we're almost reaching like 300,000 words of this story? It's crazy. *meanwhile can't write a single essay***

 ** _Question: Any guesses on where it's headed? :D_**


	69. Chapter 65

**A/N: Guess who almost forgot to update today haha. It's my thanksgiving break so I lost track of time as usual. Whoops. But at least I didn't forget! :)**

 **And I've got a pretty good playlist for this book now but I'm holding it back until certain things happen in the book cause otherwise the romance songs won't make any sense ;)**

 **So this chapter is pretty much just more angst. Yay!**

* * *

 _"But now you have everything you wanted._

 _I hope you're happy, Adelaide."_

* * *

There was a knock at the door which pulled her attention away from the news playing on the tv and the sandwich from Delmar's in her hand. Muting the tv and balancing her sandwich on the armrest of the couch, she pushed herself to her feet and walked the three steps to the door.

All of the air was knocked out of her lungs as she took in the person standing in front of her.

"P-Pepper?" she managed to say. The woman smiled at her.

"Hi," she smiled and Adelaide wasn't sure if she should hug her. Would that be totally inappropriate?

"C-Come in," she stuttered instead, stepping aside.

Nodding, Pepper walked past her into the apartment. As Adelaide closed the door behind herself and saw the room through Pepper's eyes, she suddenly wished that she had cleaned up a bit. In her defense, she had not been expecting company. Especially not Pepper's.

"Um, you know, this is Queens and you live in Manhattan, right?" she asked as the woman sat down on the sofa and Pepper laughed. Adelaide thought she looked so out of place in her apartment with the clothes she was wearing. The teenager glanced down at what she was wearing and she tugged at the hem of her oversized _Fry Day_ shirt.

Adelaide realized that this time a year ago, the three of them had been happily living at the Stark Tower, their biggest problem being that she couldn't remember anything. And now they had all separated, living in their own sad, lonely, pathetic lives.

She had never imagined that it would ever come to this.

"I'm right where I want to be," Pepper answered with a smile, looking around the room. Her smile wavered but with good reason. The apartment was practically a pigsty.

"Do you want some water?" she asked and Pepper shook her head as Adelaide took her sandwich from the armrest of the sofa to inside a Tupperware container in the kitchen. She had evidently lost her appetite.

"You dyed your hair. It suits you," the woman said.

"Thanks," she said. A while ago, after...everything, she decided to just go for her hair. People always say that you should leave your hair alone in times of depression, but she couldn't help it. She chopped it off and dyed it platinum. It was different at best. But it had started to grow on her lately.

She was a different person now so it only made sense that she changed her looks.

"But, uh, isn't it like...illegal for you to be here?" Adelaide said pulling up a chair across from the sofa. She sat down in it backwards, hooking her ankles around the legs of the chair and leaning her arms on the back of it.

"Tony doesn't make the law," she said, leaning forward, "I can do whatever I want. Besides...I missed you."

Adelaide smiled. She had missed her too. Very much.

A silence passed over them as Pepper waited for Adelaide to ask the question she knew she was dying to ask and Adelaide continued to hesitate to ask.

It wasn't completely silent, of course. Although hers was mute, her Indian neighbors were watching some tv show loudly and her other neighbor, some 19 year old college student, was blasting a Screamo song which she could softly hear through the wall. The concoction of horns, shouting, and music from the streets was always a constant. One of the very few in her life.

She studied the M&Ms candy wrapper on the floor with much interest until the silence grew unbearable.

"So how are you?" she asked, looking up at the woman. Pepper could hear the question the teenager was dying to ask, but was too stubborn to do so. She decided to answer it anyway.

"I've been better. But Tony...he's..." Pepper started, seemingly uncomfortable, "he's broken, Adelaide."

Her heart sank.

What else had she been expecting? That he was happy? Ecstatic that she had murdered his parents 25 years ago?

"I did that to him," she whispered, staring at the dirty carpet again. It killed her. It killed her that he was hurting because of her. That she had broken the man who had given her a home, a life, a new beginning. The man who said he loved her even when she thought that she couldn't love herself.

The man who gave her everything and she gave him nothing.

"Do you know?" she whispered, not lifting her eyes from the coffee stain on the carpet, "About me?"

Her answer came after a moment of hesitation.

"I know," Pepper said softly.

"But you're not that girl anymore, Adelaide," she continued, leaning forward, "You're not HYDRA. You're just Adelaide. Isn't that enough?"

She didn't want to be Adelaide.

She wanted to be Adie again.

"If it were enough, I wouldn't be here," she said, looking up.

"Come with me," Pepper said, "To my place. We can work this out."

Adelaide considered it. Living in a luxurious penthouse that overlooked Manhattan. Not having to live alone. Eating more than just leftover subs from Delmars. No more fussy neighbors and broken cats. She would live with Pepper and she would be halfway to the normalcy her life had had one year ago. Every bell in her mind was going off, telling her to say yes.

"I...I can't," she finally answered. Pepper seemed surprised.

"Why not?" she asked, leaning forward and cupping her knees, "I can help you get better. We can fix whatever—"

"Whatever's wrong with me?" Adelaide laughed but Pepper didn't disagree and Adelaide was hoping that she would.

"I'm not some broken toy that you can just _fix_ ,"

she argued, standing up, "I-I don't even know who I am anymore. You can't put pieces from two puzzles together — they don't fit."

"I didn't mean that, I was only-"

"You think you can make me better? Turn me back into the old Adelaide who didn't live a sorry life all alone in her hellish apartment. You can't fix me this time, Pepper. No one can. It's too late."

"I'm just saying that maybe it will be better for you if you moved back to Manhattan again," she said calmly, "Living alone won't help you. You need to be around other people."

"I'm not the same person anymore. And I don't want to come back. You don't know what I'm going through, you could never understand," she breathed.

"I am trying to help," Pepper argued, standing up.

"I don't need your help. I'm fine. I don't need you trying to _fix_ me. You can't. J-Just...give up. Please."

How could she let someone fix her when the pieces weren't there to begin with?

"Adelaide, I could never give up on you," Pepper said softly, stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. There was a moment of silence.

Adelaide shrugged it off, stepping back.

She couldn't do this.

She wasn't the innocent little girl that had stumbled into the Stark Tower a year and half ago. She had done...things. Horrible things. Things that made her skin crawl and made her feel disgusted by herself.

It was so hard for to just live with herself, trying to get better seemed so far away. And she couldn't be around the people in her old life again. She felt too ashamed to even look at them. She didn't deserve their love and affection.

All the people in her life were saints compared to her. They lived better lives. They were good people at heart. They deserved to be happy and wherever she was, there was no happiness. Whether it was in a cabin with her parents as they continued to worry about her or it was at a HYDRA facility where people dreaded her face, she made everything wilt.

Seeing Pepper here, in her shitty apartment, made her angry all over again. Angry at herself with a kind of anger that she couldn't control. She wasn't the Adelaide they all thought she was a year ago. That girl was only an illusion. This was who she really was.

She didn't want to hurt Pepper too. She loved the woman more than herself. Pepper had helped her through a lot of shit. She didn't want to hurt anyone else but she knew that she would eventually. So she decided to get it over with now before she did something that she wouldn't be able to take back.

And after all she had done, all the people she had hurt or killed, she owed it to them to be alone and miserable.

"I need you," she finally replied, staring at the sofa behind her and Pepper began to smile, "to leave me _alone_."

Adelaide could see it. The heartbreak on her face. And it felt _good_. One less person she would end up hurting. One less person in her life. It was relieving. One by one until she would be all alone. Just like she deserved. And then she would be safe.

"Adelaide-"

"You said it yourself, didn't you? That it sucks when the people you trust hurt you? You gave up on Tony and you left him. Now you can do the same to me. It's what you do. You get up and leave when it gets too hard," she said, delivering the final blow.

Adelaide felt Pepper's hand slap her cheek.

A moment of shock and silence flooded the room and it was followed by a stinging pain on her left cheek.

She didn't reach up to touch it. She stared at the floor where her head had turned to. She could hear Pepper breathing heavily.

Adelaide remembered all the times that she had found Tony's eyes filled with tears after Pepper had left. Or the myriad of nightmares that he had had. Or just the heartbreak on his face that the love of his life had left him. She had been there through it all, she had seen what Pepper leaving had done to him.

But Adelaide had never ever blamed Pepper for any of it. She still didn't. She knew Pepper had been going through the same thing.

But this wasn't her speaking. This was a different Adelaide. One that felt better when the people around her were just as miserable as she was. One that felt so miserable herself that being alone was the only thing that made sense anymore.

" _You_ are the one who is giving up," she whispered angrily.

"And maybe you're right. Maybe-" she took a shaky breath in, "Maybe I'm too late and...I'm sorry, Adelaide. I really am."

"You've accepted that this," she gestured to the apartment in all its glory, "is your fate. Until you realize that you're more than this, no one can help you."

It was in that moment that Pepper realized that Adelaide was just as broken as Tony. And they were both too stubborn to accept it.

"But now you have everything you wanted," Pepper breathed, fighting back tears, "I hope you're happy, Adelaide."

Adelaide didn't move as Pepper marched past her and slammed the door on her way out. She stood there for a very long time, swimming in the lingering pain from her cheek that reminded her of every little thing she had lost up until this moment.

She had had everything and she wished that she had known she would lose it one day so she could have cherished it a little bit more.

* * *

 **A/N: Soo are you starting to hate her yet? Don't worry, you'll get there soon. It's gonna be angst all the way. I tried putting myself in her shoes but tbh it's just too darn hard. I figured she's not gonna be all rainbows and unicorns so acting like a bitch was my best bet *shrug***

 **Anyway, I wrote the last few chapters of Homecoming and I'm soooo excited for you guys to read it! BUT I really don't have anything solid planned after Homecoming. Hopefully I'll come up with something over Christmas break :/**

 _ **Question: Any Thanksgiving/Black Friday plans?**_


	70. Chapter 66

**A/N: GUYS WHO GOT THE SPIDER-MAN GAME FOR THE PS4! THAT'S RIGHT IT'S ME. HOLY FUCKING SHIT ITS SO FUCKING GOOD ALJFAFGA IM EVEN MORE IN LOVE WITH PETER FREAKING PARKER *sigh* why do I always fall in love with boys that don't exist?**

 **Anyway, at least I have this Peter to myself. But he's not even in this chapter. Or the next one. Or the next one. I know I said Homecoming started, but we've got a few weeks before it _really_ starts. **

**On another note, who else has finals week soon? *cries* chemistry is gonna kill me**

 **I realized that I haven't done thank yous in a while so here we go *takes a deep breath***

 **Thank you to: _MarvelousM10, kg66, hadrianlopez1, lizlil, CocoaFirefly, polluaaa1, X23fanatic, Erumaren, JediGemini, atab98, captainvolleyball, FanficCrossoverMaster15, tayla4793, aaaand Senbernary_ for either following/favoriting or leaving a review! It makes me so happy to see that people put up with this angst haha**

* * *

 _"Yesterday, we both tried a garlic face_

 _mask she suggested. It was...delightful."_

* * *

Adelaide woke up with tears dried around her eyes.

And, of course, her neighbors causing their usual ruckus. She didn't even bother trying to shut them up this time as she rolled off of her bed. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear them up.

" _Manjeet! Ek chai pilado!_ " (Manjeet! Get me a cup of tea!)

" _Khud banake pilo! Mujse kya chai banvane kilye shaadi ki hai!_ " (Make it yourself! You didn't marry me just to make you tea, did you!)

 _"..sirf ek chai hi toh mangi thi. Ye khuri bhi na...choti choti bato pe gusa ho jatee hai._ " (...I just asked for a cup of tea. This woman...gets angry over the stupidest things.)

 _"Ha, toh me hongi nah! Kamwali banake rakha hai muje! Khudka phone kahan pada hai vo bhi nahi bata rahetain!_ " (Why wouldn't I! You keep me here like a housemaid! You don't even know where your own phone is half the time!)

"For the love of God, can you both shut the hell up!" Adelaide shouted, fed up with hearing their bickering even though she couldn't understand a word of it.

 _"Lo. Oothgayi tumhari Amrican alarm ki ghanti. Pilao chai oosko._ " (Look. Your American alarm is awake. Go, give her tea, why don't you?)

A very loud and long sigh. And then...silence. Thank fucking god. Adelaide had thought they were never going to stop.

Yawning and stretching, she made her way over to the fridge to find the lesser of the expired foods she could salvage for breakfast. She found a quarter cup of milk and eggs that were stinking up the entire fridge. She immediately tossed the carton into the trash bag, took it out, and tossed it outside her door so she could throw it down the chute later.

She realized that if she didn't go to the grocery store now, she was going to starve. Sighing with a growling stomach, she dragged herself into the even more pathetic excuse for a bathroom and hopped into the shower. She knew the water wouldn't stay hot for long so she didn't bother staying under the shower for longer than she had to.

Pulling on a black tank top with shorts and leaving her wet hair down to dry, she grabbed her wallet and phone and was out the door in less than a half hour. On her way down, she almost tripped over Mr. Zimmerman's stupid cat. Why did he have to get a cat that was the same color as the carpet?

The elevator ride luckily went without any human interaction.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, she walked out quickly, in hopes of avoiding the receptionist who always tried to talk to her about his strange theories to get rid of the giant mole on his forehead. It honestly looked like someone had glued brown play-doh to his forehead.

"Ella!" he said and she closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth, cursing at her bad luck. Why did he always have to be here when she was in the lobby?

"Ella!" he said again, waving her over to the desk.

Ella was the name she had told her landlord. She got it from Dellie. Ella Davis. The most basic name she could summon. So Lukov couldn't find her.

Adelaide really didn't have the patience to stop and talk to Don at the moment so she just ignored him and walked out of the lobby without looking back.

The moment she stepped outside, the cold morning (almost afternoon) air made her regret deciding to wear a tank top and shorts. But there was no way she was going to walk past Don again to get to her apartment. She'd rather climb the fire escape.

She decided that this quicker little grocery visit was going to have to be even quicker if she didn't want to freeze over.

* * *

Thank God for elevators.

And lunch breaks. So Don had to leave his position at the desk and she could sneak past him while hauling her groceries with her.

Groceries weren't a trip to the carnival to carry up the stairs. In elevators, you could very easily drop them into the floor and sit down with them as you waited. Which is exactly the position she was in when the doors opened to her floor. Sighing, she grabbed her bags and got to her feet.

Hobbling out of the elevator with the bags, she began making her way to her apartment, which, luckily, wasn't too far from the elevator.

Suddenly, Adelaide's eyes went wide and she almost dropped all her bags.

No, no, no, no.

This couldn't be happening. Not to her. Not right now. She was so, so screwed. And there wasn't even anywhere to hide, damn it!

It was like she was frozen and she couldn't look away from her landlord standing in front of her door.

Now that didn't sound horrible, but the thing was, her landlord believed that she was a 38 year old, blind widow.

She was 38 because, technically, without the cryosleeping, that's how old she really was. Apparently that was as far as her sense of humor stretched nowadays.

And blind because she couldn't let him see her glowing eyes. The 'blind widow' part really helped when she had initially applied to move in. You'd be surprised the things that people did out of sympathy. Not that she was complaining even the slightest bit.

This blind widow thing had worked pretty well for three months and her landlord wasn't around much everyday, so she didn't have to worry about him finding out that she really was a very lonely teenager.

Silently, she abandoned her groceries behind a potted plant before her landlord spotted her and transformed into Ella Davis, the 38-year-old blind woman. She usually wore black light blocking glasses over her eyes, but, at the moment being, they were inside her apartment and she was outside.

An illusion of black glasses covering her eyes didn't do much to hide her glowing so she lowered her face, hoping he wouldn't ask questions.

"Ah, Ms. Davis, there you are!" he exclaimed cheerily at the sight of her.

"Mr. Johnson?" she said, staring at the carpet, "Is that you?"

"Yes, I'm just here to collect the rent," he said cheerily.

Ugh. Rent. Every tenant's least favorite word. For an apartment as shitty as this (she had a bucket sitting in her kitchen to collect the water dripping from the ceiling), she shouldn't even pay him a 100 dollars but here she was paying 800.

When every penny counted, 800 dollars were as precious as your soul. But Mr. Johnson did put a roof over her head and the 'I'm a widowed blind woman' excuse didn't bargain rent, unfortunately.

"Of course!" she said cheerily in a voice she had never used before, "Come on in!"

"Er, are you alright there, Ms. Davis?" he asked when he saw her staring at the ground as if she was trying to burn a whole into the ugly carpet with her eyes. Maybe then they'd finally replace the carpet.

"Oh I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, waving her hand as she reached for her keys inside her front pocket, "I apologize in advance for the mess."

"Oh, I understand," he laughed, waving his hand carelessly as she slid the key into the lock. With a _click_ , the door was open.

 _No, you don't_.

She didn't think Mr. Johnson quite comprehended what she meant about 'mess' because when the door opened, he let out an audible gasp. The apartment looked like a teenage boy's room. Or maybe a trash site that seagulls had picked through.

The floor around her makeshift bed in the corner was littered with candy wrappers (because dark chocolate made everything better), the area around the sofa was covered with chip bags and plastics, and not to mention the endless amounts of clothes lying around the room.

She was not the cleanest person in the world. Clearly.

"Have a seat," she told him, tossing her keys onto the tv table. Adelaide wasn't sure but she thought she heard him mutter under his breath 'Where?'

As Mr. Johnson tried to find a place to sit, she tried to discreetly search the apartment for the black glasses she had bought. He only came around once a month for rent so it was easy to misplace them and if she didn't find them...Adelaide shivered, not wanting to think of the consequences.

Maybe he gave discounts to superheros?

If he did, she wasn't too keen on founding out. The blind widow would have to work for now.

"So, Mr. Johnson," she said, trying to make conversation as she ransacked the drawers for the glasses, "How's the Mrs?"

"She's doing alright. Yesterday, we both tried a garlic face mask she suggested. It was...delightful," he said, seemingly trying to convince himself.

Adelaide grimaced. Garlic face mask? Where the hell did his dumb wife get that stupid idea?

"Er, I was actually in kind of a hurry, Miss Davis. I just need the payment and I'll be on my way," he said, interrupting her search for the glasses. She angrily shoved a drawer closed, still empty handed.

"Sure," she said, still shielding her eyes from him.

Turning her back on her landlord, she opened a cabinet where she kept her cash in an old shoe box. She pulled out the cash and took out 800 exact before carefully placing the money back inside. Her hard-earned money. And she had to give it away.

Just as she was about to close the cabinet door, she spotted something sitting on the second shelf inside the cabinet.

Grinning, she put them on and then shut the cabinet. Grabbing her money, she turned around.

Mr. Johnson's eyes widened.

"What are you wearing, Ms. Davis?" he asked. Adelaide — Ella — grinned.

"They're the new fashion," she smiled, "Don't you like them?"

They weren't her blind glasses, but they were bright green with plastic slinky eyes. One of them popped out, revealing the tinted lens behind it.

Adelaide smiled.

"They're...quite something," Mr. Johnson said, fumbling for the right words.

"I have another pair, would you like one?" she asked him.

"No! I-I mean, just the payment please," he said, standing up. Adelaide stepped forward, reluctantly handing him the 800 dollars.

"See you soon, Miss Davis!" he exclaimed as he quickly made his way through the minefield of garbage on the floor to leave. Adelaide shut the door behind him.

"Do me a favor and don't come back," she mumbled under her breath. She waited until he was gone before tossing her glasses to the side and stepping out into the hallway to get her groceries. Thankfully, no one had snatched them.

She put groceries away and then with a heavy sigh, she decided it was time to get dressed for work.

* * *

 **A/N: So I'm currently in the middle of trying to pick a senior quote and I thought it would be easy enough but nOOoOOooO. I can't wait to graduate, God.**

 ** _Question: Do you ever just look at some girls and wonder how they have a boyfriend but you don't? I do that. Is that mean? Probably. Maybe that's why I'm still single. *sigh* If anyone happens to have Tom Holland's number, hit me up please and thank you. :,)_**


	71. Chapter 67

**A/N: GUESS WHO FINALLY TURNED 18 - that's right it's me. But I wanted to stay 17 forever. Now I just feel old :/ And not to mention that I had a chem final ON MY FREAKING BIRTHDAY. But the semester ends tomorrow for me and you bet I'm gonna be superglued to my PS4 all winter long ;)**

 **Anyway, there's a bit more action in this scene so hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _"You deserve to live, Adelaide._

 _You don't deserve to die."_

* * *

"We are officially a pickleless deli," Mr. Delmar stated. Adelaide sighed, finishing up the last customer after their rush hour. It felt like she hadn't breathed in an hour. She slouched against the countertop.

"You didn't tell him," she deadpanned.

"I did, I told the bastard!" he defended. Adelaide narrowed her eyes.

"Why didn't you order them yourself?" she said, taking a rag to wipe down the mess of lunch hour off of the countertops. There were still plenty of people sitting at the tables and Adelaide wished they'd eat faster so she could finish cleaning the tabletops and head home.

"I had a flu emergency this morning. My daughter," he added, reading her expression, "I told him to order the pickles."

"Fire him," she stated blatantly, wiping her hands against her apron. Mr. Delmar looked at her curiously, a small smile on his face.

"You don't mean that," he said. She caught his eyes. Why wouldn't she mean that?

"Yes, I do. He has a job and he's not doing it well so fire him. Simple as that."

"Things aren't always clean cut black and white," he argued. She shrugged, unaffected.

"They can be. It makes life easier."

"Easier is not always the point."

"It is for me. Just cut out things that are holding you back," she told him. He was looking at her with his eyes filled with sympathy and she had to look away.

"Then you must have a very easy life," he said quietly.

To that, Adelaide didn't respond.

* * *

Soon, it was time to close the deli again. As always, Mr. Delmar warned her against being kidnapped. This time, it was something about learning a thing or two from Kevin McAllister.

Rolling her eyes, with a sub tucked under her arm, Adelaide stepped out the deli, beginning to make her way home.

She only lived a few blocks away so she tried not to spend money on a taxi as much as she could. Though, it was starting to get chilly so she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up walking home at night.

Suddenly, she missed Happy and their car rides. He was always there for her no matter what. Whether it was school problems or atypical teenage girl problems, he had her back. She guessed stabbing his best friend in the back didn't fall under the trustworthy category. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to him if she called him. He had been Tony's best friend much longer than he had been her friend and she couldn't put him in that position. And just like she had done with Pepper, she wanted to keep everyone from her old life as far away as possible.

For that reason, she wasn't even going back to school this year. Maybe Tony had already told Peter everything and he hated her even more than he did before. Besides, if he was still hung up over the Uncle Ben's murderer thing, then she didn't want to talk to him. After everything that had happened since Vienna, she was sure that she had done the right thing that night. If he couldn't see that, then screw him. She didn't need him anyway.

As for Ned, he'd be upset about it a little while, but then he would get over it. All summer he had blown up her phone with texts, and she had ignored all of them.

Adelaide was done with her old life and there was no going back.

She wasn't sure where to go from here, but she wasn't going to put all the people she loved in danger of herself again. They were good people and they should stay that way. They would get over her eventually. Besides, distance reduced the chances of heartbreak.

Suddenly, a cigarette butt landed in front of her feet. Not just any cigarette butt, but a Russian one.

Adelaide glanced around, but the few people that were walking around her were just a bunch of men and women with their kids. She looked into the alley to her left, seeing smoke coming from behind a garbage dumpster.

Gritting her teeth, she looked around before ducking into the alley.

Shoving her hands into her jacket, she cautiously walked towards the dumpster. She had a small knife safely tucked into her boot, not afraid to use it if she needed to.

"What a surprise," an eye-patched man said with a sadistic grin, "I didn't plan on running into you here."

Her fingers itched to pull out the knife.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she grumbled, narrowing her eyes. For three months, she had gotten no contact from him or from Lukov himself.

It had thrown her into a paranoia for the first month. But now this? She didn't trust him at all.

He patted the rotten milk crate beside him and offered her a cigarette. She scowled at him instead and he rolled his eyes, blowing a puff of smoke into her face.

"I haven't seen you in months, Rivers, and that's the first thing you say to me? I'm hurt," he said. Adelaide gritted her teeth, stepped forward.

"I said _what_ the _fuck_ are you doing here?" she hissed. Graves didn't flinch. As usual, he was unaffected by her.

"Not so happy, are we?" he grinned. She crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at him.

"Who's fault is that?" she scowled.

"Oh no, sweetheart. It's all yours," he said, standing up and blowing another puff into her face. She didn't look away as much as she wanted to.

"Why now?" she asked, narrowing her eyes, "Nothing for three months and then this. What the fuck does he want?"

"You know the answer, Rivers," Graves grinned, tossing his burning cigarette onto the concrete, "Just think about what you've been doing for three months."

Adelaide ran through the past three months in her mind, wondering what it was that was so special, but nothing stood out to her. She had literally spent three months sulking and brooding in her pathetic apartment. Nothing had happened in the past three months.

"I don't–"

"You'll find out. Soon. Until then," he gave his infamous grin before turning around and walking away from her, leaving her to wonder what the hell he was talking about.

* * *

 _It was that road again._

 _She was on the motorcycle, but, this time, she was driving it herself. No one else to blame but herself. No one's fault but her own._

 _A pair of headlights came towards her. A memory flashed in her mind._

 _HENRY!_

 _The car skidded off the road, hitting a tree._

 _Momma..._

 _She pulled over, turning off the bike and pulling the gun out of her holster. Smoke came out of the hood of the car as she stalked towards it. It was absolutely silent here in the middle of the woods._

 _She stopped at the first door, bending down to look inside through the shattered glass._

 _She pointed the gun at the man with greying hair. He rolled his head against the seat painfully._

 _"H-Help...my..." Howard croaked._

 _I win._

 _And she pulled the trigger._

 _In the other seat wasn't Maria. It was another man, his face shielded from her view. She walked around the car to his side, pulling open the door. It wasn't Howard's wife._

 _It was his son._

 _"Dellie," Tony mumbled, half unconscious. He looked up to meet her eyes._

 _Against her will, her hand moved forward, grasping his throat. He struggled under her hold, gasping for air._

 _"Please don't do this," he choked out, "Dellie!"_

 _And then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped in his seat._

 _She stumbled back, suddenly coming to her senses. Oh no. What had she done? She looked into the car, seeing both of the men she had killed._

 _No, no, not again._

 _Her ankle twisted and she fell to the ground._

 _"Help!" she screamed as if someone could bring them back, "Help!" But here in the middle of the woods, there was no one. Just her and her mistakes._

 _It was then that she realized it was just another nightmare._

 _She tried and tried, but she couldn't wake up._

 _And then there was only one choice. With shaky hands, she reached for the gun on the ground beside her. She held it up to her forehead, looking up at the man sitting in the passenger side._

 _He was the last thing she wanted to see._

 _And she pulled the trigger._

 _But nothing happened._

 _She pulled it again. And again. But no bullets. No pain. Just unbearable silence._

 _"You deserve to live, Adelaide," came a voice, "You don't deserve to die."_

 _"Yes I do!" she cried, pulling the trigger again, "Please let me."_

 _"Suffer your consequences," the voice said again and then he began laughing as she tried to pull the trigger again and again._

 _"Let me die!" she begged him, but he never stopped laughing._

Adelaide screamed, gasping for air. She looked around, realizing she was just in her apartment. She looked down.

Her hands were covered in blood.

"No," she breathed, stumbling off the bed, "No, no, no!"

Adelaide managed to get to the bathroom where she turned on the sink, letting the rushing water wash the blood dripping on her hands. She scrubbed her hands vigorously. Why wouldn't it go away?

Suddenly, she looked up, catching her glowing eyes in the mirror and when she looked down again, there was no blood on her hands.

She stumbled away from the sink, almost falling back into the tub.

She let out a shaky breath, running her hands through her hair which was matted with sweat. She let out a muffled scream, pulling her hair and kicked a box on the floor.

Why me? How many more fucking times!

She sunk to the bathroom floor, pulling her knees up to her chest and rocking herself back and forth as the sobs broke her in half.

She couldn't sleep. Every dream was a punishment. She was tired of it. Of everything. She didn't think she could take it much longer. She was well past her breaking point.

It was all too much...It was all too much.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, pain. So much fun to write about.**

 _ **Question: how do you think the whole adie/lukov/graves thing is gonna end? (kinda asking bc im curious but also cause i need ideas lol)**_


	72. Chapter 68

**A/N: Writing this chapter made me nearly cry. I think it's the first chapter without Adelaide, but honestly it's not even the part about Adie that made me cry :(**

 **Also, thank you for all the birthday wishes! It still hasn't hit me that I'm an adult yet. Any day now...**

 **For now, be prepared to cry again :)**

* * *

 _"I'm not a bad person._

 _I just had bad luck."_

* * *

This was the second time Pepper was here within the past week.

The first time, she was here because she was worried. And now she was here to make it go back to the way it was. Well, almost.

For three months, things had been a wretched mess. Everything that had made sense before didn't anymore. Pepper had thought that nothing could have torn Tony and Adelaide apart, but she had been wrong. It only took one mistake for everything to crumble.

Even the strongest of relationships could be delicate.

For three months, everyone had quietly suffered. Pepper had busied herself with the company, hoping that things would go back to the way they were on their own.

Adelaide had spent the first month like a zombie. Alive, but not really alive. After the first month, she gave up all hope of Tony ever coming back for her. And then the anger seeped in. Little by little, she noticed her patience waning and her frustration growing. Even small things like stubbing her toe made her want to hit or break something. Subconsciously, she had decided that if she couldn't have Tony, she couldn't be happy.

And Tony was a mess. He made jokes to mask his depression. Tinkered to keep himself busy. Avoided everything and anything about Adelaide like the plague. He hadn't been in her room for three months. Sleep was unknown to him at this point and the nights where he missed her too much, he went to the lab and didn't go back to sleep. Each day, he remembered what he had seen her do to his parents. And each day he convinced himself that he had done the right thing.

Pepper found the billionaire in the kitchen with his head in the fridge, waiting for another beer to magically appear.

Pepper cleared her throat.

"Ah, Miss Potts," he said, standing up straight. He glanced inside the fridge. "I'd offer you a beer, but..."

"I'm fine without one," she said, leaning against the countertop. She put her purse and phone down on the island.

"What can I do for you today?" he said, rummaging the cabinets. There was nothing but expired soup cans and box of sun-dried California raisins. Tony grabbed the box, opening it up and popping one into his mouth. They were a bit stale but tasted better than the beer and pizza he had had for dinner for the last five nights in a row.

"I need to talk to you," she said, watching him as he turned around and walked out of the kitchen. She grabbed her purse and followed after him.

"Then talk to me," he said, walking downstairs to his lab. She followed him into the lab which, if she hadn't known better, would have guessed was a beer factory from the smell alone.

"It's serious," she said.

"I'm always serious," he said, tossing a ping pong ball across the room. One of the robot arms jumped out and grabbed it.

"You see that!" Tony grinned, turning around, "The dummy's finally learning."

Pepper gave him a look and he cleared his throat.

"Right, serious," he said, rubbing his nose, "What's that mean again?"

"Tony."

"Alright, alright, don't get your skirt in a twist," he said, pulling up a stool to sit on. "Now what could possibly be so serious that you had to come to me of all people?"

Pepper took a deep breath. "It's...Adelaide."

The billionaire stood up, already shaking his head.

"No."

"Tony..." she started.

"No, no, no, no, no," he stated plainly, shaking his head, "Don't even–Don't even bring her up."

"But–"

"I don't want to talk about it," he said sternly.

"I know you miss her," Pepper said anyway. She watched his expression. She had known him for almost a decade now and he still tried to hide his emotions from her. A blind man could have seen that he missed her.

"No, I don't. I'm fine, better even. I don't...I don't miss her."

Pepper continued to watch him in silence as he fought with himself. There were times when she knew what he was feeling before even he had figured it out.

"I'll get over it, just give me a few more months It'll be like I never even knew her to begin with," he said, looking away to hide his face. He grabbed a screwdriver off the table and began messing with something to divert his attention from the conversation.

"You don't mean that. I know you still love her," she argued, stepping forward. Anyone could see it. The bloodshot eyes. The dark circles under them. Graying hair, rough stubble, stained clothes. He was completely broken, a man without a purpose. He hadn't even been this bad when she had left. This was raw pain that was eating him alive, he was just too stubborn to admit it.

"You don't know that," he said.

"I'm trying to bring this family back together," she argued, getting frustrated. She couldn't understand why he was fighting it.

"There was no family to begin with," he said coldly, putting down his machine.

"You are letting your anger consume you, Tony," she groaned, "Have you even seen what it's done to her! She lives in a rabbit hole and she terrified of herself!"

A heartbeat of silence passed.

Tony turned around with a look of pure agony on his face.

"You...You talked to her?" he whispered. The _how is she_ was stuck on his lips but he held it back. God, they were both the same and stubborn as hell.

"Yes. And she pushed me away. You are the _only_ person who can help her, Tony. Give her another chance," she begged. Tony closed his eyes, looking away.

"I can't."

"Yes, you _can_."

"No, I _can't_!" he said again, trying to control his anger.

"Yes _, you can!_ She is our _daughter_ , Tony!"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. But it was after she said them that she realized just how true they were. Adelaide _was_ their daughter. Maybe not from the first day she had appeared at their doorstep, but after having her in their life for a year they would be lying if they said she wasn't. The only thing that was surprising was that they hadn't realized this sooner.

"She killed my parents, Pepper!" he shouted, slamming his fist on the table.

"HYDRA killed your parents! God, why can't you understand!" she groaned frustratedly. Tony swallowed, letting out a breath. The lab was completely silent for a moment.

"You're right," he said, breathing out slowly, "I don't understand. And I won't."

Pepper watched him defeatedly. And then she sighed, admitting her own defeat. He was just as stubborn as her. She couldn't help him.

"I have to go," she said quietly.

"Then go," he sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.

With that, she turned around and marched out of the lab. She spotted Happy standing there, behind the wall, having heard the whole fight. He looked torn. Pepper blinked and looked away.

She walked past him too and slammed the door on her way out.

For a moment, there was absolute silence in the room. Then Happy stepped out, catching Tony's attention. He was sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. Happy couldn't help but realize how important the kid had been to keeping this family of sorts together. Sometimes, it took someone leaving to realize how much you needed them.

"Tony, I think—"

"I can't do this right now," he sighed, "I just need to be alone. Please."

The billionaire stood up and marched past Happy, letting the door swing on his way out. Happy stood there in the room, looking around at what was left of the place. It was a tattered disaster hanging on by a string.

He had to get the kid back.

* * *

He was running from the cops.

He had been for almost a year now. He was a wanted fugitive and this was his life now. Filled with police sirens, gunshots, and a constant threat hanging over his shoulders.

In the absence of light, he found it easier to hide from the cops as they made their hourly circles around the city. He hid behind a fence as he waited for the car to pass by. Once they were gone, he pushed himself up over the fence and quickly began climbing the fire escape to a place he once called home.

Quietly, he pushed the window up and slipped inside.

He stopped. The room was dark, but he knew exactly where he was. He looked to his left, seeing his little girl lying there, fast asleep. He held his breath. He had pictured her in his mind for so long now, he had almost forgotten how beautiful she really looked.

He began to smile until he saw the oxygen strip under her nose.

Feeling his legs losing strength, he sat down quietly. He was a criminal, sure, but he was a father first. And everything he had done had been for his daughter. All the money he'd stolen, all the people he'd cheated and hurt...it was for her. Yet, nothing he did had been enough and it never would be until his daughter was healthy again.

Silently, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a wad of envelopes addressed to her that he had been too scared to actually mail. Being careful to not wake her, he slid them under her pillow, hoping that would make up for his absence or at least numb the wound.

Nothing in his life had been successful. He couldn't be a good father, he couldn't be a good husband. Hell, he couldn't even be a good criminal. He felt like a disaster without a purpose. Sometimes he wished someone else could have stepped into to be the father that he never could be or be the husband that he never was. Maybe then his daughter wouldn't be sleeping with an oxygen strip under her nose.

With a sigh, he stood up and left the room to get some clothes and food before he left again. Maybe he wouldn't be back again. Maybe he'd be behind bars next time. But for now, he was still a runaway criminal.

He was getting food from the kitchen when the lights suddenly flickered on. He turned around to find his ex-wife standing there, not looking surprised but rather tired.

"You can't hide here, Flint," she said.

"I'm just here to see my daughter," he said, staring at a stain on the wall behind her.

"You are a wanted criminal," she reminded him, taking a step forward. He swallowed, staring at the ground. "Cops are looking for you. You're not getting near her. You're nothing but a...common thief."

There was a pause.

"You maybe even killed a man?" she asked in disbelief.

"It wasn't like that," he argued, clenching his jaw, "It wasn't...I had a good reason for what I was doing. And that's the truth."

"The truth," she shook her head, "You and the truth, sitting in prison, having three meals a day together. I live in the presence of great truth, and that is the truth that you left behind right there in that bedroom!"

Flint looked over to the door, finding his daughter now awake and standing in the doorway. He wondered how much of their conversation she had heard. He walked up to her carefully, crouching down to her height.

"Hey," he whispered, holding her arm, "I missed you." He took her in. This moment right here should get him through a few more months.

"I miss you too, Daddy," she smiled. He allowed himself to smile. She held her hand out and he looked down at it in surprise. She dropped something into his hand and he turned it over. It was a locket. With a picture of her in it. His heart warmed for the first time in what felt like months. He closed his fingers around the locket, determined to keep it forever.

He looked up at her, searching her face. He had never before wanted something so badly. Just to be a happy, healthy family again. Simple for anyone else, but for a criminal like him? It was the most he could ask for.

"I promise I'll make you healthy again," he swallowed, "Whatever it takes, I'll get the money."

"You get out of here _now_ ," his ex-wife said just as the police sirens began to ring again. He dropped his head, focusing on the feeling of the warm locket in his cold hand. Before he could convince himself to stay, he quickly turned around and crossed the room to the window, sliding it open.

But just before he stepped out, he paused, looking at his daughter one more time. He looked at his ex-wife.

"I'm not a bad person," he said solemnly, "I just had bad luck."

* * *

Her room was just how she had left it.

With a layer of dust covering everything, it was obvious that no one had been in here in a long time.

With shaky hands, Tony dusted the ottoman and sat down. He swallowed, looking around. Nothing had changed. She had left everything here when she left.

He wondered where she was right now, what she was thinking or what she was doing. The last time he had seen her was in Siberia. The moment he left her, he was worried that she wouldn't find her way back.

Then Happy had told him that she was somewhere here in New York. But he didn't know anything else. Where was she staying? Was she still the same picky eater? Did she still forget to turn the lights off in the rooms? Did she still have nightmares?

 _She's not your problem anymore_ , he reminded himself. Which was true. He kept forgetting that.

With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair and looked around the room. His eyes landed on the picture frame on her bedside table.

It was Christmas.

They were both wearing the ugliest sweaters known to mankind. He remembered that she had been laughing at him. She had told him there was something on his face and he was frowning at her, his hand halfway up to wipe the chocolate off his nose.

That night she had fallen asleep on him as they had been watching _The Grinch_ and he carried her to her room. She had been mumbling something in her sleep about Thor winning a dance competition against the Grinch.

He chucked to himself quietly, shaking his head.

That was the end of that. She was out of his life for good now. There would be no more Christmases with the Grinch or chocolate on his nose.

He was by himself in this giant penthouse.

* * *

It was late.

But Pepper had forgotten her phone at the penthouse. And she needed to get it back.

So she was standing in the elevator, fidgeting with her purse straps as she waited for the doors to open. After their fight, she didn't think it was the best idea to talk to him again right away so she had decided that it would be quick. She would get her phone and leave right away.

The elevator doors opened with a ding.

The penthouse was dark. The lights were off, but she could hear the sound of the tv playing lightly. Hesitantly, she stepped into the penthouse, wincing as her heels clicked against the floor.

She looked around. She couldn't remember where she had put it...There it was, on the table next to the lamp. She picked it up off the table, scrolling through the messages. There had to be at least a million miscalls from Emily about tomorrow's meeting with the press. With a sigh, she slipped the phone into her purse, deciding to deal with it when she got home.

"No," someone said.

Pepper jumped, putting her hand over her heart. She turned around, but no one was there. Then, she realized that Tony was sleeping on the couch there.

"No, I'm sorry," he said. He was talking in his sleep. Probably another one of his nightmares.

Pepper sighed. It wasn't her problem anymore. She turned around, beginning to walk away when he mumbled something again.

"Please don't leave," he said, "Adie, please."

She turned around. He was tossing and turning on the sofa. It was just like Adelaide had told her. Subconsciously, she took a step towards him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Pepper swallowed, taking another step. She reached out to touch his hair, but pulled away before she did. She had to go. He had made it clear that this was what he wanted.

"ADIE!" he screamed and Pepper jumped.

"Tony," she whispered, cupping his face, "Wake up."

"Adie...no," he mumbled, turning away. There were tears streaming down his face now.

"Tony," she said more urgently, shaking him awake, "Wake up!"

He gasped and quickly sat up. He was heaving. He swallowed and looked around. He was still in the penthouse. It had just been a nightmare.

"Tony..."

He recoiled, pulling away.

"It's just me," she whispered and Tony blinked, barely able to make out her face in the dark. He let out a breath of relief. It was only Pepper.

"Sorry..." he croaked, blinking feverishly, "I just..."

"It's okay," she said softy.

He swallowed, staring at the ground.

For a long time, they both just sat there in the dark in complete silence.

He rubbed his hands over his face and hair trying to remind himself that it was only a nightmare. But it felt so real. Adie had died. And all he could do was watch. The vivid images flashed through his brain like sharp needles. It was a recurring nightmare. Like an omen.

If she were here, then he wouldn't be having these nightmares. Just a few months ago, she had been here, with him. That felt like a lifetime ago.

"You were right," he finally said, "I miss her."

Pepper stayed silent. She had a feeling there was more.

"We were happy," he continued, "And I ruined it. I always ruin it."

"You can't blame yourself. You were angry," she said gently. Tony sighed, rubbing his face again.

"It's not too late," she said when he didn't say anything, "You can still bring her back."

But it was too late. He had made his decision.

"No," he said, standing up, "I can't. Every goddamn corner of this place reminds me of her. I can't escape it."

Pepper stood up too, "What do you mean?"

"I'm moving."

* * *

 **A/N: When was the last remotely happy scene in this story? I genuinely can't remember lmao.**

 **Anyway, as the saying goes, the more problems, the more story...or something like that.**

 ** _Question: Whose final weeks is over or almost over? I can't believe it's already been a week of my Christmas break :,(_**


	73. Chapter 69

**A/N: Y'all I nearly forgot to publish this today but MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE hope you guys had a great day and lots of presents!**

 **I don't remember what I wrote in this chapter but hopefully I edited it hehe**

* * *

 _"You got 20,000 dollars?"_

* * *

A whistle blew behind him.

"THERE HE IS!" someone shouted.

He pushed his feet to run faster. He had never been to this part of the city before. He had no idea where to hide. He just kept pushing his feet forward, hoping to find someplace to hide soon. He dared to look over his shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of the canines running towards him, beginning to catch up.

Suddenly, he ran into a fence.

His eyes widened. He looked around, but this was the only way out. The cops were catching up fast. Without thinking twice, he began climbing the fence as fast as he could. Soon, he was at the top. He looked back at the cops behind him, barely able to make out their figures in the dark. They were aiming.

He ducked, jumping down onto the other side of the fence.

And then he ran faster than he had ever ran in his life. In the midst of his panic, he missed the sign hanging on the fence that read:

 **DANGER**

Particle Physics Test Facility

 _ **KEEP**_ _**OUT**_

The cops finally caught up to him, stopping by the fence. One of them cursed, shaking the fence in anger.

"You take the west side!" he shouted and the men scrambled, "You take the east! Go! Go! _Go!_ "

Flint couldn't keep running anymore. They were going to catch him. He grunted, nearly losing his balance. He had to find someplace to hide through the night, just long enough for them to leave.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet disappeared and he was falling through the air for a second before he landed on something. In the dark, it was impossible to tell where he was or what the hell he had fallen on. He grabbed a fistful of it.

Sand.

"Where'd he go?" one of the cops said, shining his flashlight through the fence.

Slowly, he stood up, looking around. He grabbed his side, nursing a bruise. What the hell was this place?

Suddenly, a bright overhead light turned on above him. He flinched, covering his face. The light was so blinding that he couldn't see anything past it. And then, as fast as it had turned on, it turned off. In its place, a bunch of rod-like creations began to crackle with what looked like electricity.

Back in the control room, someone noticed a little change.

"Johnny, we got a little fluctuation on one," the woman told her colleague. He frowned. That was strange.

"There's a change in the silicon mass," he informed his superior officer. He shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"It's probably a bird," he said, "It'll fly away when we fire it up."

" _Initiating demolecularization_ ," the physicist said, pressing the final button to start the process. No one thought to argue with a superior officer and let the change in mass slide. It probably was just a bird.

In the pit, Flint was beginning to get worried. What were these rod-like things doing spinning around so fast? And how could he get out of here before they started spinning too fast? They came down closer to him, rotating faster with every passing second. The sand underneath him began to rise, blowing around wildly.

Just then, his eyes locked with the grass atop the pit. If he could just make it past these rods, he could climb his way out of this pit and find a place to hide until morning. He tucked his arms into his side, waiting for the perfect moment.

Without thinking twice, he sprinted ahead, eyes never leaving his exit.

But he never made it past the rods. He ran into one and it threw him back into the sand. He groaned, closing his eyes as the sand began to fly faster. It was making his eyes burn. And if he couldn't see, how was he ever going to get out?

Suddenly, the sand began to spin so fast it made a wall around the rods. Wearily, he stood up, shielding his eyes with his hand. He looked around in confusion. What the hell was going on?

And then to his horror, something strange began to happen to him

He removed the hand shielding his eyes to properly look at it. His fingers had a funny feeling. He lost feeling in his fingers and the numbness only grew until...

His fingers were turning into sand.

More and more of him turned into sand, until he had completely lost feeling in his entire body. He shouted, trying to ground himself, but there was nothing to hold on to. It was going out of control. He fell to his knees, screaming in agony.

And by the time the cops had finally caught up to him, there was nothing in the pit but sand.

* * *

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry Ella, but the central heating system is down until tomorrow morning," Don said, pursing his lips. Adelaide glared at him as if it was his fault.

She was in the lobby of all places, arguing with Don about the heating system which was, like Don, proving to be useless. It took every cell in her body to keep her from shouting bloody murder at the receptionist. He was lucky there was a countertop separating them.

"You can't be serious," she groaned, "It's literally 26 degrees outside!" It was just one of those days where Mother Nature had lost its mind and suddenly dropped the temperature in the beginning of September.

"There's nothing I can do," he shrugged, sounding way too cheery given the situation.

" _Тупой, бесполезный гребаный мудак_ ," she muttered under her breath (Dumb, useless fucking asshole).

"Layer up, am I right?" Don grinned. She wanted to slap his stupid grin off his stupid face.

"Shut up," she grumbled, snatching her purse off the countertop and turning away.

"Wait, Ella! I forgot to tell you something I found about Jeremy," he shouted after her. Adelaide grimaced.

Yup. He had named his mole.

She kept walking, ignoring him. With a sigh, she entered the elevator, too tired to take the stairs. It had been a long day at last night and she was absolutely exhausted. She was still wearing her pajamas from last night. The only thing she had been looking forward to was a nice, long, hot shower and now that idea was out the window too.

She was going to freeze her ass off by tomorrow morning.

Everything about this stupid apartment sucked. But she couldn't even even leave because New York was so goddamn expensive. And although Queens was a hell of a lot cheaper than Manhattan, she wasn't about to buy a penthouse with her deli salary anytime soon.

With a sigh, she opened the door to her apartment and dragged herself inside. As she tossed her purse to the side, she realized she had left the TV on.

 _"...Now, let's go over to Robert about the situation with the strange incident in the city last night..."_

She decided to make toast as the tv kept running in the background.

 _"There have been reports of a peculiar sighting down by 20th avenue. Officials say they're unsure of what it is, but they have a few ideas of what it could be,"_ Robert said, and the camera zoomed out, showing a man standing beside him. He looked drunk out of his mind, _"Can you tell me what you saw, sir?"_

 _"I saw a man. And then he disappeared."_

Robert waited for more. But apparently, that was all. He glanced at the camera awkwardly and cleared his throat.

 _"Well, there you have it folks. A disappearing man is loose in Queens. Officials are doing a follow up on the matter and we'll keep you updated right here on News Channel 10. Now, back to you, Mary."_

 _"He was real! I wasn't lyin', I swear!"_ the drunk man shouted before the camera cut to Mary.

 _"Erm, in other news, a giraffe escaped the Central Zoo in London. Let's see footage of him eating pizza from a tourist's plate."_

Adelaide switched off the news. What a load of bullshit. A drunkard who saw a disappearing man? A giraffe on the loose?

It was days like this that she felt relatively normal, despite everything.

* * *

"What's with all the layers?" Mr. Delmar asked as he walked past her with a bucket of pickles. He had eventually caved and ordered the pickles himself. Julio, unfortunately, was not fired.

"The heater in my building broke," she sighed, rubbing her forehead. Mr. Delmar winced.

"That's rough, kiddo," he said. She turned around, following him into the kitchen. He handed her a bucket of banana peppers and she busied herself with emptying it into the storage containers.

"Tell me about it," she said, opening the bucket.

"When's it getting fixed?" he asked, doing the same thing with the pickles. Adelaide looked at him, pouting.

"Tomorrow morning," she frowned. Mr. Delmar shook his head disapprovingly as if the heating system in her building had personally let him down.

Adelaide cracked a smile. This was why she could tolerate Mr. Delmar. He didn't give her shit like Don or her landlord. He was blunt and to the point.

"Well soon you'll be at school so it won't matter," he said, emptying the pickles into a smaller storage container, "When's your school opening, by the way?"

"Um...I don't know," she said, avoiding his gaze. She hadn't exactly told him she wasn't planning on going back to school. Granted, the plan was pretty stupid, but she just couldn't stand going back. She couldn't.

"You don't know?" he asked, looking up, "What school do you go to?"

Adelaide hesitated. Then she realized there was no fooling Mr. Delmar. She might as well be lying to an FBI agent.

"Midtown High," she said, standing up straight. She walked around the island to get a storage container from the closet.

"Really," he said, suspecting something. She avoided his deliberate gaze as she walked back to the bucket of banana peppers.

"And you're 16, right?" he asked, watching her.

"Yeah," she said, opening up the container. Mr. Delmar has halted all of his pickle action to give her his full attention and she wished he'd go back to his work to take the attention off of her.

"So you're 16 and living on your own?" he asked. Adelaide looked up.

"How do you know I'm living on my own?" she asked. Mr. Delmar cracked a smile.

"You've gotta be at least 18 to rent out a place around here. So you've lied about your age to your landlord and I'm gonna assume you lied to me too. You're what? 14? 15?"

 _Damn, he was good._

"15," she admitted, staring at the pickles.

"And you don't know when your school starts which means you're not going," he said. Adelaide had to refrain from looking at him with wide eyes.

"...No," she admitted.

"And why not?" he asked. Adelaide busied herself with the banana peppers again.

"It's complicated," she answered.

"I'll make it simple for you," he said, "You're going back to school whenever it opens."

"No, I'm not," she said, taking the storage container which was now full of bright yellow banana peppers to the back of the kitchen with the other vegetables.

"You are if you want to keep this job."

Adelaide turned around.

Keeping this job meant keeping her apartment. And without her apartment, she would literally be on the streets. In the cold. Homeless. She could _not_ be homeless.

"You can't do that," she said, beginning to panic. Mr. Delmar narrowed his eyes.

"You're underage working here. I could fire you right now," he said. Adelaide swallowed.

"But you won't," she said.

" _If_ you go to school," he said and Adelaide said nothing. Mr. Delmar sighed, wiping his hands on the rag over his shoulder.

"Look, kiddo," he said, pulling up a chair for himself, "You've gotta go to school, however complicated it is. Otherwise, you're gonna end up like me."

"But you make the best subs in New York," she said with a small smile, hoping the flattery would alter his decision somewhat.

"Yeah, well believe it or not, it's not exactly making me millions," he said, giving her a small smile, "Go to school. It's hell but it's worth it. I'm sure your dad or mom or whoever would want you to go to school too."

Funnily enough, the first person that came to mind when he said 'dad or mom' wasn't Henry or Ava.

It was Tony and Pepper.

And Mr. Delmar was right. They would want her to go to school. Even though Tony called it a hormonal prison. Adelaide smiled to herself at the memory, staring at the tiled kitchen floor. After the first month she had shown up at the Tower, he'd signed her up for Midtown Middle. Who knew how complicated it would get from then on?

"You convinced yet or do I have to give another motivational speech?" Mr. Delmar said, watching her. Adelaide snapped out of her thoughts, looking at him.

"I can't convince you to let me keep my job without going to school?" she asked, giving it one more shot. Mr. Delmar considered it.

"You got 20,000 dollars?" he asked, sliding off the stool. Adelaide scrunched her nose, reaching into her pocket. She emptied it into her hand, holding it out for him to see.

"I've got a 5 dollar bill and a pack of gum?"

"Good luck with school, kid," he said.

* * *

 **A/N: Anyone else getting hit with the seasonal depression? No? Just me? Welp. Mine came with a free writer's block...**


	74. Chapter 70

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS YALL! Hope 2020 is super awesome for all of y'all and thank you for sticking around with me and Adie for a whole year :,)**

 **Pretty depressing chapter as usual. I think I wrote the saddest chapter ever a few days ago. It was post-Infinity War. I guess I just really like to write sad stuff *shrug***

* * *

 _"He misses you like crazy_. _"_

* * *

Adelaide had a problem: Midtown High started tomorrow.

Despite Mr. Delmar's motivational speech, she really didn't want to go back to Midtown High. It was her old life and she had made a promise to herself that she had left it for good. Besides, there were _just_ _so many memories_. She would be insane to think that she could go back and still avoid facing everything.

Not to mention her little run-in to Graves. He wouldn't show up without a purpose. But, as usual, his words made no sense to her and he had thrown her into a swirl of skepticism and anxiety. What were the chances that he wouldn't try something once she went back to Midtown High? He'd already set the library on fire and nearly killed her. Who's to say he wouldn't burn something bigger this time?

But maybe, just maybe, there was small, tiny, microscopic part of her that wanted to go back, despite everything. Was it selfish of her to want to put everyone at risk just to feel the tiniest sense of normalcy again?

The tv had been playing for an hour now, but she couldn't focus on a word. It was some movie in Spanish that she had been trying to follow, but her mind kept wandering and now it was nearly midnight.

With a sigh, Adelaide decided it was time to go to sleep.

There was no use in meddling with her thoughts. They were just an endless train of _what ifs_ that didn't really have answers. Adelaide took her dinner (the usual leftover sub) and put it into a tupperware container. She had only been able to get through half of it before her appetite left. Maybe she'd finish it tomorrow.

She made sure her front door was locked before turning off her lamps and slipping under the covers to sleep.

* * *

 _Adelaide was back at school._

 _She walked through the front doors and everyone in the room turned to look at her accusingly. She kept her eyes down and walked through the throng of students. They were whispering things about her but she couldn't understand what they were saying._

 _There, at the end of the hall, was a Do Not Cross sign. She stopped, swallowing. Suddenly, all the whispers stopped and she felt a cold silence creeping up her spine until she felt his hand on her shoulder._

 _She gasped and turned around, seeing Lukov himself standing there. He had a maniacal grin on his face._

 _"Welcome back, Adelaide," he grinned, "Couldn't help yourself?"_

 _"Leave them alone," she begged, referring to the rest of the school, "It's not their fault."_

 _"Oh I know," he said. The entire school was leaning forward, hanging on his each and every word. "It is always your fault."_

 _She shook her head, frantically trying to take a step back but his grip was tight on her shoulder._

 _"I-I didn't mean to," she whispered, "I didn't know!"_

 _"Do they know why their Coach Ross died?" he asked, his grin unwavering, "Shall I tell them?"_

 _"It wasn't m-my fault," she whispered, feeling tears pricking her eyes._

 _"What did I say, Adelaide? It is_ always _your fault," he grinned and she heard everyone gasping and the murmurs began. She swallowed, feeling a rising panic in her chest. They couldn't find out. They would kick her out._

 _"And what about the fire that burned down the library?" he said, his grip on her shoulder tightening. She gasped in pain, feeling the hot tears rolling down her face._

 _"I can't believe she did that," someone said._

 _"She burned down the library?"_

 _"She's a murderer, I knew it."_

 _"She's a freak! We're not safe around her!"_

 _"Yeah! Let's throw her out!"_

 _Everything began spinning and the voices got louder in her ears. She was trying to say something, but her voice wasn't working. She began having trouble breathing. Lukov released his grip on her shoulder and she stumbled away, almost falling over. She gripped her throat, trying to stop the burning._

 _"I can't believe you did this, Ada," someone said and her eyes snapped up._

 _The whole room was blurry and spinning, except for the boy standing in front of her, looking disappointed. She reached out for him, but the floor nearly gave away under her and she had to lean against the wall for balance._

 _"Peter, you have to believe me," she gasped, "It wasn't me!"_

 _"That's what all murderers say," Ned said, appearing beside Peter. Adelaide looked at him with wide eyes. She shook her head vigorously even though it made the room spin harder. How could she make them see?_

 _"I didn't murder him!" she shouted, begging him to understand._

 _"You're cancer," Michelle said, appearing beside her, "And you know what we do to cancer?"_

 _"We cut it out," Peter smirked._

 _Adelaide stumbled back, shaking her head in fear. Her back hit the wall. She had nowhere to run._

 _"Please," she begged, sobbing, "It wasn't me."_

 _Knives appeared in everyone's hands as they stalked towards her. She swallowed, beginning to panic. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. She had no one to turn to._

 _"Please!" she screamed, but no one listened._

 _Murderer...cancer...kill her...kill her...kill her..._

 _They were all dangerously close now, the blades in their hand glinting like jewels. Her head spun. She needed to run. But they were everywhere._

 _"Kill her!" someone shouted._

 _"She doesn't belong with us!"_

 _Suddenly, something appeared in her hand. She looked down, seeing the familiar glint of a metal. A gun. She hooked her finger around the trigger._

 _"Kill! Her! Kill! Her! Kill! Her!"_

 _Closing her eyes, she held up the gun and began shooting._

 _She didn't stop until she heard the click of the gun. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Realizing what she had just done, she dropped the gun, scrambling away from it. Her eyes traveled over to the rest of the room._

 _Peter, Ned, and Michelle were on the floor, each with a bullet hole in their forehead. There were other people there with them on the floor, oozing out blood._

 _She gasped, covering her mouth._

 _"No, no, no, no, no," she breathed, sinking to the floor. The horror of the images seeped into her veins and she began to sob. She had done it again._

 _"See, Adelaide? It is always your fault," Lukov said appearing in front of her._

 _And he was right._

Adelaide woke up with a gasp.

Not again, not again. She threw her covers off and raced for the bathroom.

Adelaide felt the panic growing in her chest like an inflating balloon until it was pressing on all of her organs. She pushed open the door to the bathroom, stumbling into the room. She gasped, realizing that she couldn't breathe. She began to heave, digging her fingers into her palm. She gasped for air which ended into a fit of coughs.

She fell to the floor, feeling tears pooling her eyes as the sobs overtook her. Her coughs grew. The feeling of dread grew. Someone had to be stepping on her throat. She became scared. What was happening to her?

Something came up her throat and she hurled into the toilet, gripping the porcelain like a lifeline. What was happening? Why couldn't she breathe? It felt as if her lungs literally could not hold that air that she needed. Her body was breaking into cold sweat and shivers traveled through her body. Her skin felt raw. She felt like she was going to jump out of her own body.

The panic, the dread, the fear, it grew heavier and heavier, putting more pressure on her throat until she literally could not breathe. She gasped for air clawing at her throat. Air! Damnit! Why the hell couldn't she breathe! She squeezed her eyes shut, seeing stars in her vision. She needed air.

Her thoughts were racing through her mind so fast that even she couldn't keep up with them. All of them sent her into a faster hurricane of panic.

The room began to spin and she felt dizzy.

She _needed_ air.

She had to calm down. Everything was spinning. Everything was out of control. Nothing made sense. Breathe, breathe, breathe. In, out, in, out, in, out. It didn't work. Why wasn't it working? What the hell was wrong with her? Was she losing her mind?

"Help," she managed to gasp but it wasn't even loud enough to be heard the next room over. She pulled at her hair, almost tearing it from the roots. The feeling up her spine was pure agony and stars spun in her vision.

She gasped for air through her tears.

She clawed at her throat, leaving marks.

She yanked her hair.

She squeezed her head.

She screamed.

She cried.

But it wouldn't stop.

* * *

Adelaide hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep in the bathroom until she woke up with her cheek pressed against the cold tiled floor.

With a groan, she pushed herself off the floor, wincing under the sharp bathroom light.

She sat up, looking around. She had no idea what time of day it even was. There were no windows here. Then, the memories returned like a sword through her skull. She pressed her fingers against her temple, wincing.

 _Damn_ , her head hurt like hell.

She pushed herself back until she was sitting with her back against the bathtub. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them. She felt absolutely drained. For a long time, she sat in silence, staring at the peeling wallpaper. She listened to her steady breathing, grateful that she could breathe again. Her mouth felt unusually dry. Her face felt stiff and swollen, like it always did after she cried.

What had happened?

She remembered the feeling of absolute terror that had consumed her earlier. She remembered the nightmare so vividly. She had felt nothing like it before in her life. There was fear and panic and–

A panic attack. She had a panic attack.

* * *

Hey _Happy_

 _Just updating you on the latest!_

 _Helped clear the road for an ambulance._

 _Stopped a guy trying to mug an old man._

 _Just being me, cleaning up Queens!_

 _School is so boring._

 _Wish I could be doing something more._

 _Just keep me updated._

 _You have my number, right?_

 _Happy?_

 _Press 1 if yes, 2 if no_

 _How's Black Widow?_

 _or should I say "Natasha"_

 _I know it's a big sacrifice_

 _I am completely committed_

Peter sighed, dropping his head as he scrolled through the texts.

It had almost been three months since Mr. Stark had promised him that "We'll call you." He had told him that Happy was his go-to guy, but either he had lost his phone, or had been ignoring all of his texts. Peter had a feeling it was the latter, but Happy wouldn't do that...would he?

He decided to send him another text, just to be sure.

 _Hey Happy just checking in._

 _I'm out of school at 2:45 PM_?

 _Ready for my next mission!_

 _It's Peter BTW._

 _Parker._

It was the first day of school which meant summer vacation was already over. Besides the big thing in Germany, he hadn't been able to do much as Spider-Man. Sure he stopped a few robberies and car chases here and there, but he wanted to do something _more_. He knew he could handle it. If only Mr. Stark gave him another chance. Instead, he heard radio silence for nearly three months.

Peter pocketed his phone just as the bus pulled up in front of Midtown High. He sighed.

Back to being the same old Peter Parker again.

* * *

"Taxi!" Adelaide shouted, but the yellow car sped past her as if she was invisible. Just like a dozen fucking cars before that.

At this rate, she was never going to get to school.

Maybe if she told Mr. Delmar she couldn't go because she couldn't find a taxi then he would understand. But then again, it was Mr. Delmar and there was no way to be sure of what he would do. There was a chance that he could fire her.

And she couldn't risk losing her job over a goddamn taxi. Or lack thereof.

"Taxi!" she shouted again, waving her hand maniacally but it sped past her. Maybe they didn't want a crazy teenager in their car. Well too bad for them because she was going to find a taxi one way or another.

Suddenly, a black car pulled up in front of her. Adelaide ignored it and continued to scan the road for a cab. The driver of the black car rolled down his window.

"Need a ride?" he asked.

Adelaide looked down. It was Happy.

The nostalgia hit her like a sack of bricks. She almost forget her situation and began to get happy. Then all the memories hit her like a sack of bricks and she suddenly remembered that she wasn't supposed to be happy.

"Get in," he said cheerily.

Her heart was begging her to get in and spill everything to him on the way to school just like she had done half a million times before. It was like slipping back into an old habit. So easy. So inviting. So damn comfortable.

"No," she said, walking away and further down the street. She heard him opening the door and getting out. She walked faster. Maybe she could just walk to school. It was only a few blocks away. And she could take exhaustion over a taxi ride any day. It was certainly much cheaper. And cheap was all she could afford nowadays.

"Adelaide, wait!" Happy said, catching up to her. She continued walking, ignoring him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I can't," she finally said, stopping and turning to face him. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why not?" he said again.

"I...I just—I can't."

He sighed, looking up and down the street. He was out of breath from walking to catch up with her.

"Look, kid, just get in. It's cold outside and I left my jacket in the car so just come with me, okay?"

Adelaide gave him a look. Then she sighed and looked away. She was too tired to fight him. Just this once, she would have to let her emotions get the best of her even though she knew she would regret it.

"Fine."

A minute later, they were much closer to the school than she would have gotten if she had decided to walk. Or had stayed to find a taxi.

The first minute had passed in absolute silence. And so had the next. And the next. And the nex—

"I'm glad you're still going to school," Happy said. Adelaide stubbornly stared out the window.

"I'm not going because I want to," she grumbled.

"What a surprise," he grinned, fingers drumming a happy tune against the wheel, "Who threatened you?"

"My boss," she admitted.

"You have a job?" he asked, surprised. He glanced at her through the rear view mirror. She didn't look at him. She wanted to cry. She wanted Happy to hold her and she wanted to cry about the last three months into his shoulder.

"I have to pay my rent somehow," she shrugged.

"Look at you, all grown up," he laughed, shaking his head, "So how's it like living on your own?"

The _it sucks ass_ was on the tip of her tongue but she opted for a better response.

"I love it. Can't believe I didn't do it sooner," she lied. She could feel his gaze on her.

"Really," he said, clearly not believing a word. If he knew the kid at all, he knew she had to be lying.

"So when are you coming back?" he asked, taking a right turn.

Adelaide sighed, "Happy..."

This question was the reason she hadn't wanted to get in the car. There were too many expectations with everyone. She would just have to disappoint them all again. And there was only so much guilt that she could take. As she had proved last night.

"He misses you like crazy," Happy said, focusing on the traffic. She felt a sharp pain in her chest. Tears threatened to prick her eyes. She was _not_ emotionally stable right now, given everything that had happened the night before.

"But did he forgive me?" Adelaide asked but she knew the answer to that. She hated the sound of the slight hope in her voice. Happy stayed silent, confirming what she already knew.

It was hopeless to think otherwise. But she had already spent three months tearing herself apart over this and just when she was finally feeling the smallest sense of consistency in her life, she wasn't about to throw it all away for a shred of hope. She just couldn't get trapped in the circle again. It was her endless hell.

"He'll get over it. Just come home," Happy said, taking another right onto the street where Midtown High was. She could see students crowding the steps like a colony of ants. They all looked so excited for the first day of class. Lucky them. She swallowed her fear.

"I'm not coming back. I'm done," she said sternly just as he pulled up in front of the school. She wrapped her hand around the door handle. Happy turned around, looking at her in desperation. How could he make her see what her absence had done to them? She left behind a disaster.

"Please–"

"Please just stay out of my life and leave me alone. It's over," she said before stepping out of the car. She didn't stop to see his expression because she knew she'd break into sobs if she did.

She closed the door and began walking up the steps as fast as she could, trying to keep her calm. She stopped at the final step and glanced over her shoulder. Happy was still parked there as if she had changed her mind in just fourteen steps.

With a shaky sigh, she turned away and entered the school.

* * *

 _SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS_

Adrian Toomes didn't like to take help.

But he had decided to make an exception for the man who could supposedly turn into sand.

He knew the strange sightings in the news were not accidents or hallucinations. In a world like this, nothing was strange. His men had tracked down this supposed man named Flint Marko for him.

Adrian was waiting under the bridge, staring at the graffiti that read _NY SUCKS_ when he heard a rustle behind him. He grinned to himself before turning around.

"Flint," he greeted, "So nice to finally meet you."

"Who are you?" Flint asked cautiously, narrowing his eyes. He looked angry and desperate for something. Just the kind of qualities he was looking for. Adrian smiled.

"Adrian Toomes," he said, "I've seen what you can do. I'm impressed."

"What do you want?" Flint scowled. His guard was up; he didn't trust this stranger.

"Straight to the point," Adrian grinned, "I like that. To put it simply, I want...you. I'm an arms dealer and you can turn into sand. What do you say we start working together?"

"I work alone," Flint said, turning away, "Don't try to contact me again." Adrian sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He watched the man walking away.

"64th Street, Woodside, Apartment 36," Adrian said, "Residents: Emma and Penny Marko."

Flint stopped. Then he turned around, giving Adrian the most furious look he could muster.

"You stay the _hell_ away from my family," he hissed. Adrian smiled sympathetically.

"Oh but they're not your family anymore, are they?" he said, "You got kicked out for being a criminal."

"I am _not_ a criminal," Flint said, glaring hard at him. Adrian took a step closer.

"Believe me, I know," he said, "You're just misunderstood."

Flint stayed silent, staring at the underside of the bridge. Adrian stepped forward carefully. He of all people knew exactly how to tame a beast.

"I have a daughter as well, Flint," Adrian said quietly, "And I would do anything for her."

Flint looked up, catching his eye. He looked conflicted. But he was considering something he hadn't been two minutes ago. Adrian considered that progress.

"Join me. I'll get you more than enough money to treat your daughter," he coaxed, "You can treat her. You can be a family again. Isn't that what you want?"

Flint stayed silent for a long time, racing through a million thoughts in his mind. Adrian waited patiently, knowing that he had said everything he could have said. Then, Flint took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"What do I have to do?" he asked.

Adrian smiled.

* * *

 **A/N: So I figured Adie probably wasn't exactly mentally stable and I wanted to make it super accurate so I wrote the scene with the panic attack. Hopefully it accurately describes what she was going through cause I know it's a pretty sensitive topic and I just wanted to get it right :/**

 **Somehow my brother forced me into playing Monopoly when I'd rather be doing a million other things :(**

 _ **Question: What theories do y'all have about this new villain pairing? *side eyes***_


	75. Chapter 71

**A/N: Not much of an authors note today. :/ Phone is glitching again**

* * *

 _"¿Cómo está tu hija, eh?"_

* * *

 _"Rise and shine, Midtown Science and Technology,"_ Betty Brant said on the school's tv.

 _"Students, don't forget about your homecoming tickets,"_ Jason smiled and then turned to Betty, _"Do you have a date for homecoming?"_

 _"Thanks, Jason, but I already have a date,"_ she answered uncomfortably.

 _"Okay,"_ Jason frowned. Betty smiled at the camera awkwardly.

 _"Yeah..."_

With a sigh, Peter opened up his locker to grab his books. The internship incident was still fresh on his mind and the last place he wanted to be right now was school.

"Join me, and together...we'll build my new Lego Death Star."

Peter turned around to find Ned standing there, holding a Palpatine Lego figure in his hand. He glanced around.

"What!" he said, wide eyed.

"So lame," he heard a cheerleader say as she was passing by. Ned grinned, oblivious.

"No way!" Peter grinned, ignoring her, "That's awesome. How many pieces?"

"Three thousand eight hundred and three," Ned said proudly.

"That's insane," Peter breathed, taking his math notebook out.

"I know!" Ned said, giddy, "You wanna build it tonight?"

"No, I can't tonight. I've got the Stark-"

"Mhmm. Stark internship," Ned sighed. Ever since summer, Peter had almost totally forgotten about him. It was the Stark internship all day, every day. With Adelaide not replying to his texts and Peter busy with his internship, summer had been an absolute dud. Family game night with his parents was starting to get old and he missed hanging out with his friends like they used to. Peter closed his locker, glancing at his best friend guiltily.

"Yeah," Peter said quietly, starting to walk down the hall, "exactly."

"Always got that internship," Ned said.

"Yeah, well, hopefully, soon it'll lead to a real job with them," Peter shrugged, hoping he'd understand.

"That would be so sweet," Ned agreed.

"Right?" Peter sighed. If only.

"He'd be all, 'Good job on those spreadsheets, Peter. Here's a gold coin'," Ned said. Peter gave him a look. Ned grinned sheepishly.

"I don't know how jobs work," he admitted.

"That's exactly how they work," Peter chuckled.

"Oh," Ned laughed, "I'll knock out the basic bones of the Death Star at my place. And, and then I'll come by afterwards..."

The rest of his words faded away as they came to the end of the hall and Peter's eyes locked onto a certain girl walking ahead of him.

Liz Allen.

It was like everything was happening in slow motion. She brushed her fingers through her hair as she talked with her friends. For one, fleeting moment, their eyes meant and Peter thought his little heart was going to explode. He was mesmerized.

"...because for the most part, the difficult thing is the base of it. The top half we can knock out in two hours, tops," Ned finished saying, but Peter had barely heard him.

"That'd be great," Peter mumbled just as the bell rang and Liz disappeared out of sight.

* * *

Adelaide had a problem with her schedule and the lady behind the desk didn't know how to fix it.

"I don't know how this could have happened, doll," the lady said with a frown, "How's this sound? You stick with the schedule you got today and we'll fix you up by tomorrow."

"Fine," Adelaide snapped, taking the paper from her hands.

"Have a blessed day!" she called out after the teenager. Adelaide closed the door to her office shut with a sigh. Not even thirty minutes back and she was already growing a headache.

She glanced around the halls. They were empty. Which meant she was already late to her first class. Great. She read through her schedule, searching for her first class.

Chemistry.

Clearly there had been a problem with the schedule because she had already taken that class last year. There was only one thing she could hope would go her way and that was not running into Ned or Peter. Especially Peter. Maybe her schedule was in her favor. For today, at least.

Grumbling some colorful words under her breath, she headed upstairs to her class. A couple minutes later, she was staring at the wooden door, contemplating just not going in. Mr. Delmar wouldn't find out. Nobody had to know.

 _But don't you want things to go back to the way they used to be?_

With a sigh, she pushed open the door. As she had expected, the teacher — Mr. Walter — stopped in the middle of his sentence and everyone in the room turned to look at her.

"You must be Adelaide," he greeted warmly, "Please, have a seat."

Keeping her head down, she maneuvered through the grid of desks to find an empty one closest to the back. Mr. Walter resumed his lesson and everyone's attention returned to him. Adelaide found a desk in the last row, plopped down into the seat and threw her backpack beside her onto the floor.

It wasn't until a minute later that she even dared to look up.

Of course, there was Ned, sitting in the desk beside hers. He gave her a small smile, looking hopeful. Adelaide forced herself to smile back before she looked away, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. The guilt began to bloom in her stomach and she swallowed, avoiding his eye contact.

At least Peter wasn't in this class.

"Hey," Ned said and Adelaide looked at him again.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Uh...so how are you?" he asked awkwardly. Not once had their friendship felt awkward in the years that she'd known Ned and today she wanted to crawl into one of the cabinets behind her and never leave. She missed everything the way it was before. So badly.

"I'm...good," she said as if she had just learned to speak, "You?"

"I've been better," he said, glancing at her from the side. She swallowed, tucking her hair behind her ear. It was her fault that this was so awkward.

For the rest of class, he didn't try to talk to her and every passing minute felt agonizing to the point where she considered just getting up and leaving. Finally, the class ended and Mr. Walter dismissed them. Before she could even stand up, Ned was out the door.

Against better judgement, she ran after him.

"Ned! Wait!" she shouted and he stopped, turning around. She picked at the backpack strap on her shoulder as she tried to gather enough courage to look at him. The crowd of students was getting bigger as more of them left their classes and the nervous energy in the pit of her stomach was growing.

She should just tell him the truth. He would understand. It was _Ned_ , for crying out loud.

He watched her expectantly.

"What?" he said, giving her a chance. Adelaide looked up at him. Something swirled in her stomach. She shook her head, feeling a familiar panic settling in, making home.

"I — sorry," she said and ran past him, pushing through the throng of students until she was sure he couldn't see her.

She couldn't do it.

She was too big of a coward.

* * *

"Did Liz get a new top?" Peter mumbled.

They were sitting at their usual lunch table, watching Liz hang the banner for the homecoming dance. He was holding his head up with his hand, his lunch pushed aside.

"No," Ned sighed without looking away, "We've seen that before, but never with that skirt."

A girl passed by, saying hi to Liz who replied with equal enthusiasm. Peter let out a sigh.

"We should probably stop staring before it gets creepy, though," Peter said, still staring.

"Too late," someone said and both boys turned their heads to look at the curly haired girl sitting beside them at the end of the table.

"You guys are losers," she said.

"But then why do you sit with us?" Ned asked. Michelle shrugged.

"Because I don't have any friends," she mumbled, returning her attention to her book. Ned and Peter shared a look before turning their attention back to Liz. Ned had thought of telling Peter about his run-in with Adelaide this morning, but he thought better of it and kept it to himself. Peter, in truth, hadn't thought about Adelaide at all the whole day. He'd been so obsessed with the internship that she hadn't even crossed his mind.

Besides, there wasn't a whole lot of thinking going on when he was watching Liz.

* * *

Adelaide couldn't believe her luck.

She'd gone the entire day without running into Peter or even Ned again for that matter. The school had transformed into a minefield. Yet, for once in her life, things were actually going good. A little voice in the back of her mind told her that nothing good ever lasted in her life, but she decided that she'd worry about that tomorrow when she got her real schedule.

For now, there was a mandatory meeting for the decathlon team that Adelaide had for some unknown reason decided to go.

She didn't have to be at Delmar's for at least another half hour and it wasn't too far from the school that she couldn't walk so instead of wasting money on a taxi to go back to her miserable apartment, she decided to go to the meeting. Besides, she had said she would join the team last year. She remembered it especially vividly because what Liz had said to her before.

 _Well, since you two are so close, I just thought that maybe you were together_.

She pushed the doors to the theater open, walking inside.

Inside, Liz was talking to Mr. Harrington in a hushed voice while Flash was reading a book, clearly hiding his phone underneath it. He winked at her as soon as she walked in and she rolled her eyes. Ned and Michelle were sitting up on the stage being quizzed by Abe. Ned hadn't seen her walk in just yet and she hoped he wouldn't, trying her best to forget the events of this morning.

"...I can't believe Peter isn't coming to the decathlon," Liz sighed, looking worried, "We're just going to have to manage without him."

 _He isn't going?_

What could possibly be more important than the decathlon for him? And not to mention Liz Allen. Why would he throw it all — Spider-Man.

If she knew Peter, he put Spider-Man first. Even before her many times. The decathlon never stood a chance. Although, Adelaide did feel slightly better that he didn't change his priorities even for Liz Allen, the girl he had been obsessed with for years now.

"Adelaide! I'm so glad you're here!" Liz greeted. Adelaide sighed to herself. She didn't have the energy to be as nice as Liz was all the time. She settled for a not-frown, considering it an expression as Liz approached her, a bustle of nervous energy.

"The field trip is in five days and Peter just said he can't —"

"Wait — _five_ days?" Adelaide asked. Liz paused, glancing at her.

"Yeah," she said, "That's not a problem for you, is it?"

 _Oh, it just interrupts all the sulking I have scheduled for the week._

"No..." Adelaide said unsurely. She had to have something going on. She always had something.

 _That was back when you still lived at the Tower._

Right. Of course. Now...she didn't have an agenda. She literally didn't have anything better to do. What had her life come to?

"Great!" Liz smiled, "I'll catch you up with all the details for tomorrow, just let me get the forms. I really like what you did with your hair, by the way! It suits you!"

Adelaide barely got in a nod as the girl hurried away to get her the forms. She didn't even know where the were going for the field trip. How long were they going for? She hadn't even studied for the competition.

But the truth was, she just wanted to get out of New York altogether. Some change in scenery could be good for her. Plus, Peter wouldn't be there and she just couldn't deal with him right now.

Wherever they were going, she hoped it wasn't in New York.

* * *

As soon as the meeting had ended, Adelaide was out the door. If she didn't run, she was going to be late for her shift.

Luckily, she stumbled through the door just in time.

Mr. Delmar looked up, seeing her walking into the restaurant. He grinned and Julio handed him a five dollar bill with a frown.

"Couldn't be a couple minutes late?" Julio asked her as she walked behind the counter. He had to change his shift slightly because of her school schedule and now he was working an hour extra than he did before which meant he was going to be there everyday after school. Adelaide grinned at the dark-skinned man.

"Well we can't all be like you," she said, hanging her backpack on the hook.

"Very funny," he retorted, going back to making his sandwich.

"How was school?" Mr. Delmar greeted her. Adelaide grabbed a white apron off the hook, putting it on.

"Good afternoon to you too, Mr. Delmar," she said. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't tell me you didn't go today," he said. She rolled her eyes, walking past him and pulling on a pair of plastic gloves. Murphy meowed at her as she passed him.

"I did go," she said, "And it was hell."

"So I guess not much has changed since I was in school, eh?" he grinned, leaning on the countertop. Adelaide faced him, cocking her head.

"Did they screw up your schedule back then, too?" she asked. Mr. Delmar laughed.

"Oh yeah," he grinned, "It's how I met my wife."

Adelaide frowned. That was not at all what she had been looking to get out of this schedule mishap. She shook her head.

"I'm doing all this because of you, you know," she said, looking at him. Mr. Delmar raised a skeptic eyebrow.

"You realize there's no way I could have known if you went to school today or not, right?" he said. Adelaide looked away.

"Didn't occur to me," she lied. Mr. Delmar laughed, patting her shoulder.

"Sure it didn't, kiddo," he said, walking past her into the kitchen. She let out a breath, leaning against the countertop. Julio smirked at her and she narrowed her eyes.

"What?" she said.

"You're a terrible liar," he smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Julio," she muttered, walking inside the kitchen.

* * *

Peter opened the door to his favorite deli which he hadn't been to in a while.

He was craving one of Mr. Delmar's sandwiches and the smell of the best deli in Queens welcomed him as soon as he walked through the door. The bell rang overhead, signaling his arrival.

"What's up, Mr. Delmar?" Peter greeted. Mr. Delmar looked at him from above the stack of boxes in his hand.

"Hey! Mr. Peter Parker, haven't seen you around in a while," Mr. Delmar greeted. Peter shrugged.

"Been busy with some stuff," he said, grabbing some gummies off the shelf.

"I'll get someone out here," Mr. Delmar said and Peter nodded, "Adelaide! My hands are full, can you ring this one up!"

Peter froze.

Then he told himself that there were hundreds of Adelaides in New York and his couldn't possibly be working here.

"Coming!" she shouted from the kitchen. Before he realized that he had heard that voice before, she stumbled out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

Adelaide froze.

She realized that she hadn't seen his face in nearly three months. Memories came flooding back and she swallowed. She couldn't look away from his eyes. It was like everything around him had disappeared and it was just the two of them, looking at each other. Something fluttered in her stomach.

"Hi," she breathed.

"Hi," he said quietly, equally breathless.

For a moment, they were caught in a whirlwind of emotions, unable to look away from each other. Peter had forgotten just how blue her eyes were. He didn't know she had dyed her hair. He wanted to tell her that it looked nice but the words were stuck in his throat. Adelaide almost forgotten how his little curl of hair always fell into his face. Or just how chocolate his eyes looked.

Someone laughed in the restaurant and Adelaide blinked, snapping out of it.

She tucked her hair behind her ears, clearing her throat. She walked up to the register and began pressing random buttons to busy herself.

"What-What can I get for you?" she said, her voice unsteady. She swallowed, trying to steady her breaths. Peter shook his head, snapping out it a second later. What had gotten into him?

"Um," he swallowed, suddenly forgetting his order altogether, "I...uh..."

"Number five, right?" Mr. Delmar said as he walked by.

Peter blinked. Right. Of course. How could he forget? His stomach flipped. He couldn't believe this was the first time he was seeing Ada in three months. Why was he so out of breath? And why in the world was his heart beating so fast?

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, coming to his senses. He looked over at the guy working on the subs, "Um and...uh, with pickles, and can you smush it down real flat? Thanks."

"Will that be all?" Adelaide said quietly, typing his order into the machine. She didn't look up at him, but she had heard the slight twinge of hope in her voice. Peter didn't miss it either.

Peter looked up at her for a moment, opening his mouth to say something. Then he thought better of it and looked away.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"It'll be right out," she mumbled. She quickly finished typing his order and immediately turned around, escaping into the kitchen without looking back. Peter sighed. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.

"How's your aunt?" Mr. Delmar asked, oblivious to the whole scene. Peter looked up.

"Yeah, she's alright," he said.

" _La tía de é les una italiana muy bellissima_ ," Mr. Delmar said to the man working beside him. (His aunt is a very hot Italian woman.)

" _¿Ah, sí?_ " Julio said. Peter smiled to himself.

" _¿Cómo está tu hija, eh?_ " he asked. (How is your daughter, huh?)

Mr. Delmar gave him a look and Peter couldn't help but grin broadly.

"Ten dollars," Mr. Delmar said.

"It's five dollars," Peter argued, pointing to the menu overhead. Mr. Delmar wasn't having it.

"For that comment, ten dollars," he said and Peter laughed.

"Hey, come on, I'm joking. I'm joking," he laughed, pulling out a five from his wallet, "Here's five dollars." Mr. Delmar took it grumpily, depositing it into the register. Peter sauntered over to the fat cat sitting on the countertop.

"What's up, Murph? How you doing, buddy?" he said, petting him. The cat didn't move and continued to glare at everyone in sight.

Peter stole a quick look past the cat into the kitchen where he saw a mess of blonde hair moving around. His breath caught in his throat. He was supposed to be mad at her, wasn't he? But hadn't three months been long enough? Why hadn't she reached out to him? Why was it bothering him to begin with?

Murphy meowed quietly and Peter sighed.

"I know, Murph," he mumbled, "I know."

As if she could tell he was staring, Ada turned around and Peter quickly looked away, hoping she hadn't see him.

"So, how's school?" Mr. Delmar asked, pulling him away from the cat.

"Ah, you know, it's boring," he sighed, "Got better things to do."

He heard someone coughing in the kitchen.

"Stay in school, kid. Stay in school. Otherwise, you're gonna end up like me," Mr. Delmar said, looking over his shoulder.

Peter thought he heard someone scoffing loudly.

"This is great," Peter said, gesturing to the restaurant. Mr. Delmar grinned, handing him his sandwich.

"Best sandwiches in Queens," he said.

* * *

 **A/N: I promise the next chapter will have more action, but there will definitely be more angst ;)**

 _ **Question: What's your favorite song? Mine changes every few weeks lol.**_


	76. Chapter 72

**A/N: GUESS WHO NEARLY DIED TWO DAYS AGO- that's right it was me but I'm okay nothing happened lucky me I still have to go to school next week :(**

 **Anyway this chapter gets pretty heated by the end and of course there's angst as usual ;)**

* * *

 _"Iron Man. Hey, what are you_

 _doing robbing a bank?"_

* * *

 _QUEENS COMMUNITY BANK_

"Yo, this high tech stuff makes it too easy," he said as his buddy drilled into the ATM. His friend laughed to himself.

"Told you it was worth it," he grinned.

"Okay, go, go, go," he urged the other guy who grabbed his own high-tech weapon and charged it up to pull out the part of the ATM he had just lasered through. It levitated out soundlessly.

"Woah, nice!" he laughed, making a grab for the money inside.

"We can hit, like, five more places tonight," the other guy laughed as he piled the money into his bag.

Unknown to them, a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man had silently walked through the door. He closed it quietly and then turned around. They still hadn't noticed him. He looked around, trying to find an intimidating pose to strike. He settled for leaning one hand against the wall with the other on his hip. He made a mental note to look up good hero poses later. There had to be something better than this.

He cleared his throat, "What's up, guys? You forgot your PIN number?"

They all froze and then whipped around, revealing their masks.

"Whoa! You're the Avengers. What are you guys doing here?" Peter greeted cheerily.

Iron Man loaded his gun, but Peter shot a web to snatch it out of his hands and he swung it to the side, hitting Iron Man and Thor in the face. Thor hopped right back up and tried to elbow Peter's face, but Peter slammed the "god's" fist right into the Hulk's face, knocking both of them backwards.

"Thor. Hulk. Good to finally meet you guys," he said as he pulled himself up onto the ceiling. He kicked Thor backwards into the window. Peter hung himself upside down from the ceiling.

"I thought you'd be more handsome in person," he said just as Iron Man began throwing punches at him. He dodged them effortlessly.

"Iron Man. Hey, what are you doing robbing a bank?" Peter grinned, "You're a billionaire."

Just as the Hulk stood up with his high-tech weapon, Peter dodged one last punch from Iron Man who tripped and fell back into the Hulk. They both stumbled to the ground with a groan.

Peter didn't react fast enough to Captain America aiming the other high-tech device at him and now he was suspended in the air.

"Hey! Oh, this feels so weird!" he shouted just before Captain America threw him onto the Hulk. Peter slammed into the wall with a loud _oomph._

"Whoa, what is that thing?" he breathed. Before he could stand up, Captain America once again captured him in the levitation field and began tossing him up and down between the ceiling and the floor.

"I'm starting–" Up. "–to think–" Down. "–you're not–" Up. "–the Avengers!" Down.

Before Captain America could toss him up like a salad again, he pressed his hand onto the floor, letting the stickiness hold him down.

He shot his web a desk behind the supersoldier and pulled it forward, ramming it into his back.

* * *

The day was finally over.

Well, almost. They still had to wrap up the deli and close everything properly before they left. While Adelaide was wiping down the countertops, she wondered about what she wanted to do once she got home. Maybe she'd watch tv while eating her sub. Who was she kidding. That was exactly how her days ended every day. So perfectly bland.

"Still got school tomorrow, then?" Mr. Delmar asked as he grabbed the broom. Adelaide's nose scrunched up at the thought of going to school again. And not only school but the _decathlon_ , too. Why did she join, again?

"Unfortunately," she sighed as a piece of her hair fell out of her ponytail and into her face. She blew it to the side lazily. "Any chance you'll still take me up on that pack of gum?"

"I thought it was gum and a five dollar bill?" Mr. Delmar asked. She pursed her lips.

"Vending at school machine ate it," she said.

"Hope they fix your schedule tomorrow," he said with a grin. Adelaide sighed, taking out the trash.

"I hope so too," she said before she disappeared into the kitchen with a black bag of trash in her hand. She pushed open the back door with her hip and threw the bag into the dumpster before dusting her hands and coming back inside.

"Hey Mr. Delmar, I forgot to tell you that I left the box of gloves under the—"

Adelaide squinted her eyes, trying to look into the bank across the street. Her eye caught movement going on inside even though the bank had been closed for a while now. There was money flying around everywhere.

Spider-Man was being tossed up and down like a bouncy ball.

"What the hell..." she muttered under her breath.

And were those...were those the _Avengers_?

* * *

"Alright guys, let's wrap this up. It's a school night," he said as he kicked Thor onto a poster on the wall that read, _Identity theft? We've got you covered_.

Iron Man held up the high-tech device, but before he could do anything, Peter webbed the device against the window and jumped onto Iron Man's shoulders. He briefly wondered what Mr. Stark would do if he actually did this to him.

"So how do jerks like you get tech like this?" he asked as he looked at Iron Man's face under the mask.

Suddenly, the Hulk fired up the laser device at him.

"No!" Peter shouted, "Wait, wait, wait!"

He quickly pulled himself and Iron Man out of the way less than a second before the plasma blast cut through the wall of the bank and hit the deli across the street.

Delmar's exploded into flames.

"Delmar's!" Peter shouted, quickly swinging himself across the street. He ran into the store, waving the smoke away from his face.

"Hey, Mr. Delmar, you in there?" he shouted in panic, "Is anybody in here? Hello!"

"Over here!" Mr. Delmar said, coughing loudly. Peter found him crouched behind a table, holding his cat.

"Come on!" Peter urged, holding his hand out. Mr. Delmar took his hand to help himself up and Peter quickly escorted him out of the store. Mr. Delmar was coughing wildly, but he was gasping, trying to tell him something.

"What is it?" Peter asked, glancing over his shoulder at the burning restaurant. It would collapse any second now.

"A..Ad...Adel...aide," he said in between coughs. Peter's eyes widened.

 _Ada!_

Immediately, he ran back inside. The flames were higher now. He couldn't help but feel a sense of panicked deja vu. The fires were inching towards the ceiling. The entire restaurant could cave in any moment. He had to find Ada before it was too late.

"Ada!" he shouted, "Ada!"

Then, he heard someone coughing.

Peter found her crouched behind the burning counter.

"Ada," he said, making her look up. She looked absolutely terrified, clearly having no idea what was going on. The smoke was making her eyes burn and she couldn't see as clearly. Peter swallowed.

"I-I'm gonna get you out, just hold on!" he said and then he took a step back.

He shot webs from both hands out at the counter and pulled it towards the window as hard as he could. He groaned under the pressure, but, finally, the counter gave away and crashed into the windows, leaving a clear path for Ada to walk through.

Suddenly, a piece of aflame plaster fell from the ceiling, creating a line of fire between him and Ada. She looked up at him and then up at the ceiling which was groaning. She pushed herself against the wall, surrounded by fire and backed into a corner.

Their eyes met over the fire.

He shot his web out, pulling Adelaide towards him just before the ceiling caved on her.

She crashed into him hard and he wrapped his arm around her, swinging them out of the burning deli. As soon as they hit the pavement, Adelaide's feet gave away and she nearly fell down but Peter held her up, holding her close.

"I got you," he breathed. Adelaide pushed him away and began coughing uncontrollably. She bent over, leaning her hands on her knees. It all had happened so fast, her mind was still back in that corner of the deli. Peter carefully helped her to sit down at a bench.

"I'll be right back," he said as he left to check on Mr. Delmar and she nodded, still coughing.

A moment later, Peter came back to her, crouching down in front of her.

"You okay?" he asked quietly. The coughing had lessened, but her eyes were watering from the smoke and her throat was burning as if it was on fire itself.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, her voice sounding raspy, "What happened?"

Peter sighed, dropping his head. The robbers had already escaped.

"Robbers. Had some high-tech weapons. I tried to stop them but..." he trailed off. Adelaide studied him. It was still strange to think it was Peter under that mask.

"High-tech weapons?"

"Not important. Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to go to the—"

"I said I'm fine," she snapped, reaching up to a bruise on her forehead and wincing, "Stop acting like you care."

"What?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows together.

"You said we were done. So stop acting like you still care," she snapped and then she wished she could take it back. She didn't want to start an argument right now. She wanted to crawl into a bed and hide from the world.

"That doesn't mean I want you do die," he said, sounding angry. This fueled her annoyance. Who the hell was he to get angry with her?

"I'm sorry. The last thing you've said to me is 'get out of my life' which was three months ago and you expect me to think you still care?" A small part of her wanted him to say that he was over the whole thing and that he still cared a lot about her.

"I think you're forgetting why I pushed you away three months ago," he snapped instead, standing up angrily.

"Because I stopped you from committing murder? God! You still think you're the good guy here?" Her voice was almost shouting.

She slouched. She didn't want to fight with Peter. But this fight was inevitable. And it was three months old. But she wasn't the same person she was three months ago, willing to admit that she had been wrong to stop him that night. Now she knew better. Only, Peter didn't.

"And you think you are?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"You're not a hero, Peter, you're just some guy to wants to avenge his uncle," she said.

"I would have if it wasn't for you!" he shouted, making fists at his sides.

"You honestly think Ben would have wanted you to kill that man!" she shouted back which ended in a fit of coughs. Peter answered without even thinking. Like a reflex.

"He's not here because of him," Peter whispered, leaning forward, "He had _no right_ to kill my uncle."

Adelaide looked up at him.

The restaurant was still on fire. Mr. Delmar was nowhere to be seen. She was shivering and her throat was burning like hellfire. Peter was towering over her. Although she couldn't see his face underneath the mask, she knew he was furious.

This wasn't the Peter she knew. He was consumed by vengeance. He was too blind to see the consequences of what he wanted. And she was too mentally exhausted to argue with him right now. She swallowed.

"And what gives you the right to kill that man?" she asked quietly.

Peter looked at her for a long minute.

Then the sirens ripped through the silence and Peter glanced at her one last time before shaking his head and swinging himself away.

She watched him go until his figure disappeared behind a building. Suddenly, the wind got colder and the streets seemed to get darker. Adelaide pulled her knees up to her chest once he was out of sight, beginning to shiver as the tight knot in her chest loosened.

She hid her face between her knees and let herself cry right there on a bench on 21st street.

* * *

Adelaide silently watched the sirens atop the police car.

After the police had gotten here, they pelted Mr. Delmar with questions who answered all of them with an eerie calm. The ambulance arrived a few seconds after the cops and quickly searched her for injuries. Besides a couple bruises and first-degree burns on her arm, she was fine. They left her wrapped in a blanket and sitting in the ambulance to check on Mr. Delmar.

If Peter hadn't saved her when he had, she could have died tonight. Why wasn't she more fazed? She was so calm, it was scaring her. Did she not care about her life anymore? What was left in it that was worth living for?

All she could think about was if she had died, how long would it take for everyone to find out? Would they even care? Would Tony?

And then there was Peter. God, Peter. He saved her life again. But why couldn't he understand that taking a life wasn't so simple? It had almost been a year since Ben died and Peter still hadn't moved on. He'd lost himself in vengeance. And maybe, just maybe, it was too late to help him find his way out. She hid her face in the blanket, closing her eyes.

She was so lost in her depressing thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Mr. Delmar approaching her. Murphy meowed quietly in his arms, catching her attention.

Adelaide's eyes widened and she jumped down from the ambulance.

"Mr. Delmar...I am so sorry about the deli," she whispered. Mr. Delmar shook his head, his eyes still watching the restaurant. It had burned to ashes now, nothing left of it but blackened charcoal.

"It's all gone," he mumbled to himself quietly, "Just like that."

Adelaide hated seeing him like this, defeated and dejected. It was like looking into a mirror. She wanted to help him, but there wasn't much she could say or do to help. She reached out to hug him and he sighed, hugging her back with the arm that wasn't holding his cat.

"It's going to be okay," she said, pulling away.

"I'll get you your salary by tomorrow," he said, staring at the open ambulance behind her.

"No — don't worry about that," she said firmly, "You don't need to pay me."

He looked up at her with a grateful smile and Adelaide had a feeling it would be a while until she saw him again.

"Thank you," he said quietly, "You're a good person, Adelaide. I hope you work everything out in your life." His tone implied something more, but she didn't question it.

Instead, Adelaide forced a weak smile.

 _I hope I do too_.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey so I need a quickkk favor from you guys. I wanna enter this fanfic contest on here but the max word limit for entries is like 2,000. So I gotta pick any 2,000 words of this story I can submit and they judge based on just those 2,000 words.**

 **Any particular scene you guys think that I should submit? Or what's your favorite scene in here and I'll see if it fits the 2,000 words mark :)**


	77. Chapter 73

**A/N: HELLO LOVLIES its been a long week and its only wednesday smh. My school started this tuesday and in my first class this dude (sitting beside me in the front row) was deadass sNORING and the professor didn't even notice lmaooo. That pretty much sums up my college experience**

 **ANYway, this chapter is kinda funny and there also A NEW CHARACTER introduced in here! I'm sooooo excited for ya'll to meet her cause she's awesomee and I've been waiting so long to release this omg omg**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 _"You know I larb you."_

* * *

 _STARK TOWER_

The Dum-E picked up a china vase.

"No. No, put that down," Happy said to it just as his phone began to ring, "That's worth more than you or me."

He picked up his phone without glancing at the caller ID, "Yeah?"

"Happy, the craziest thing just happened to me!" Peter said as he raced across a rooftop, "These guys were robbing an ATM with these high tech weapons—"

"Hey, take a breath, okay?" he said, "I don't have time for ATM robberies..."

"Yeah, but—"

"...or the thoughtful notes you leave behind. I have moving day to worry about," Happy continued as he signed some legal documents, "Everything's gotta be out of here by next week."

Peter jumped onto another rooftop and then froze in his tracks.

"Wait. Wait! You're moving? Who's moving?" he practically shouted into the phone.

"Yeah, don't you watch the news?" he said, signing a few more documents as he made his way towards the elevator, "Tony sold Avengers Tower. We're relocating to a new facility upstate where, hopefully, the cell service is much worse."

"But what about me?" Peter asked, his shoulders dropping. All the adrenaline from earlier had been fizzled out of him.

It was Happy's turn to be confused.

"What about you?" he said.

"Well, what if Mr. Stark needs me or something—" Peter sighed as he sat atop a lamppost, "—I don't know, something big goes down? Can I please just talk to Mr. Stark?"

"Look," Happy tried reasoning as he walked into the elevator, "just stay away from anything too dangerous. I'm responsible for making sure you're responsible, okay?"

Peter jumped down from the street light into the alley where he had been earlier to grab his backpack.

"I am responsible. I—Oh, crap. My backpack's gone," he said.

Happy frowned, "That doesn't sound responsible."

"I'll call you back," Peter sighed.

"Feel free not to."

* * *

Later that night, exhausted, Peter stealthy climbed up his apartment building.

Once he reached his window, he quietly pushed it open just enough. He peeked inside his room before heading in. Aunt May walked past his open door and he ducked beside the window as she passed. Then, when it was clear, he quickly slipped inside.

He stayed on the ceiling to pass over the bunk bed and shut the window with his foot. Then he pulled off his mask and tossed it to the side, letting out a breath. It had been a long day. Silently, he crossed the ceiling to close the door to his room before hopping onto the floor.

When he turned around, he found Ned sitting on his bed, having just seen everything.

His mouth was wide open.

The Death Star in his hands fell to the ground and shattered.

"What was that?" May shouted. His eyes widened.

"Uh, it's nothing. It's nothing!" he shouted back, his eyes not leaving Ned's. It was safe to say that they were both pretty shocked.

"You're the Spider-Man," Ned breathed, frozen, "From YouTube."

"I'm not," Peter said, trying to contain the problem, "I'm not." He might as well have a sign on his forehead that said _I'm lying_.

He realized he was still in his suit and he quickly pushed the button on his chest, wriggling out of it. He kicked it to the side, out of sight.

"You were on the _ceiling_ ," Ned breathed. He began to panic.

"No, I wasn't. Ned, what are you doing in my room?" Peter asked, trying to change the topic.

"May let me in. You said we were gonna finish the Death Star."

"You can't just bust into my room!" Peter argued.

Suddenly, May bust into his room, waving a cloth around and bringing in a wave of smoke.

"The turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster," she laughed, "Let's go to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?"

"Yes–"

"No," Peter quickly answered for him, "He's got a thing." Ned glanced at him, quickly catching on.

"A thing to do after..." Ned lied. They both smiled at the woman who looked at them strangely, glancing between the two of them.

"Okay..." she said, waving a finger at Peter, "Maybe put on some clothes."

Peter nodded, blindly reaching for his shirt hanging on the chair beside him. They both stood there silently until May's footsteps faded away. Ned was barely holding his panic inside. And then Peter let out a breath, turning to Ned.

"Oh she doesn't know!" Ned said, beginning to panic again.

"Nobody knows!" Peter lied as he pulled a shirt on, "I mean, Mr. Stark knows because he made my suit, but that's it. N-No one else."

Ned's mouth fell open.

" _Tony Stark_ made you that?" he whispered, "Are you an Avenger?"

Peter hesitated. "Yeah, basically."

"Whoa..." Ned whispered, leaning against the bunk bed for support. He was starting to feel lightheaded. That was a lot of information to take in in two minutes.

"You can't tell anybody about this," Peter begged, standing in front of him, "You gotta keep it a secret."

"A secret? Why?"

"You know what she's like!" Peter said, gesturing to the door, "If she finds out people try and kill me every single night, she's not going to let me do this anymore! Come on, Ned, please."

"Okay," Ned said, steadying himself, "okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll level with you. I don't think I can keep this a secret. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, Peter!"

Ned was getting a slight sense of deja vu but he couldn't remember why.

"Ned," Peter said slowly, "May cannot know. I cannot do that to her right now, you know? I mean, everything that's happened with her, I... Please."

"Okay," Ned nodded.

"Just swear it, okay?"

"I swear."

"Thank you," Peter said, letting out a sigh. He walked away from his best friend, running his hands through his hair.

"I can't believe this is happening right now," he said more to himself than anything else.

"Can I try the suit on?" Ned asked. What _was_ that thing he was trying to remember?

"No," Peter said tiredly. It had been a long night.

"How does it work? Is it magnets? How do you shoot the strings?" he began rambling.

"I'm gonna tell you about this at school tomorrow, okay?"

"Great. Okay," he said and then paused, "Well, wait, then. How do you do this and the Stark internship?"

Peter looked at him.

"This is the Stark internship," he said.

"Oh."

His mind was telling him that the thing he couldn't remember was very important, but he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that his best friend was a superhero–

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Oh _no_.

Oh no no no no _no_.

"Oh. My. God," Ned said. If he had another Death Star in his hands, he would have dropped it again. Peter turned around, watching him curiously.

"What?" Peter said. Ned's wide eyes snapped to his.

"I have something to tell you," Ned blurted. Then he backtracked. "But I can't tell you because it's not mine to tell, but I really want to tell you, but I can't tell you but I want to–"

"Ned," Peter said slowly, "You're spiraling."

"Sorry. Sorry!" he breathed.

Ned was freaking out. He was having a meltdown.

Ned Leeds was _d_.

"What do you want to tell me?" Peter asked with a frown, stepping forward. Ned looked up at him, opening his mouth to tell him. He stopped, shaking his head.

No. No, he couldn't. Adelaide would kill him. She would actually kill him dead.

"I can't," he squeaked. Both of his best friends were superheroes. Spider-Man and Blue Phantom. Blue Phantom and Spider-Man. Superheroes. The freaking _AVENGERS_!

HE WAS HAVING A _MELTDOWN_.

The excitement was bubbling inside him, begging to burst. He had to — _needed_ to — tell someone. This was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him in his whole life. It was wild. Insane. It was absolutely insanely insane. And crazy. How crazy was it that both of his best friends were superheroes! He was going to go completely nuts.

Man, did he know how to pick the best best friends or what?

"Why not?" Peter asked. Ned swallowed his secret, trying his very best to not blurt it out right then and there.

"It's not mine—"

"—to tell," Peter sighed, "Yeah, I know that part."

Ned pulled his lips in, staring at Peter like a puppy who wanted to play outside. Peter looked at him and then sighed shaking his head at the ceiling. He didn't have the patience for this right now.

"Just get out of here," Peter sighed, ushering him out the door. He closed the door behind his best friend and let out a huge breath, smacking his forehead at his own stupidity.

That made three.

* * *

"What's the matter?" May asked him.

"Thought you loved larb. It's too larby? Not larby enough. How many times do I have to say "larb" before you talk to me? You know I larb you."

Peter looked up at her with a small smile. They had ended up going to eat Thai after all. But after everything that had happened in the past two hours, he couldn't find his appetite and he had been poking his food around in his dish distractedly.

"I'm just stressed," he said honestly, "The internship, and I'm tired. A lot of work."

"The Stark internship," May sighed, shaking her head, "I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark. Distracted all the time...he's got you in your head."

 _"The beloved Queens' institution, Delmar's Sandwiches, was destroyed..."_

"What does he have you doing?" May continued, oblivious to the news playing on the tv behind her. Peter watched the tv with a grim look on his face.

 _You're not a hero, Peter, you're just some guy who wants to avenge his uncle._

 _"...in an explosion..."_ the news continued.

"You need to use your instincts..." May trailed off, noticing the look on her nephew's face. She followed his gaze to the tv playing behind her.

 _"...earlier tonight after an ATM robbery was thwarted by Queens' own colorful local crime-stopper, the Spider-Man. As the Spider-Man attempted to foil their heist, a powerful blast was set off, slicing through the bodega across the street. Miraculously, no one was harmed."_

 _And what gives you the right to kill that man?_

"If you spot something like that happening, you turn and you run the other way," May said and Peter blinked out of his thoughts, nodding.

"Yeah," he said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course."

"Six blocks away from us," May said, shaking her head. Peter chewed on his lip, watching his aunt.

"I...uh...I need a new backpack," he said quietly.

"What?" she asked in disbelief. Peter cleared his throat.

"I need a new backpack," he repeated.

"That's five," May said. Before he could defend himself, a waiter stopped at their table with a plate. Peter watched him as he watched May.

"Sticky rice pudding," he said, setting the dish down besides May's.

"Oh, we didn't order that," she said.

"It's on the house," he smiled. He winked at her before leaving. Peter fought a smile.

"Oh! Thanks," she said as he left and then she turned to him, "That's nice of him."

"I think he larbs you," Peter joked and May pointed to herself with her eyebrows raised until they both bursted out into laughter.

* * *

As soon as the elevator doors opened to her floor, Adelaide heard a foreign language.

It sounded Asian, but she couldn't put her finger on which one it was. She carefully stepped off of the elevator, peeking down the hall.

To her surprise, instead of spotting Mr. Zimmerman's horrible cat hissing at her, she found a girl about her age carrying a box that was too big for her small arms. Adelaide stood there, watching her with her lips slightly parted.

"您将删除它。我告诉过你不要随身携带，但你从不听我的话," another voice said, coming out of the apartment across from Adelaide's. He looked like a bitter middle-aged man who hated people and life. _(You're going to drop that. I told you not to carry it, but you never listen to me.)_

"I've got it, dad," she sighed, carrying the box inside.

In her short experience of having a neighbor, Adelaide had decided that she didn't like it. Besides, she had had a long day and she desperately needed to be alone. Not to mention that she smelled like a chimney and was in desperate need of a shower. So while the father-daughter duo were both inside, Adelaide took that moment as a chance to quickly slip inside her apartment unnoticed.

Of course, karma had some disputes to settle with her so as soon as she had slid her key into the keyhole, she heard a small voice behind her.

"Excuse me?"

Adelaide sighed, dropping her head against the door with a soft _thunk_. Taking a deep breath, she turned around.

The girl was unhealthily skinny. Her thick black hair reached just past her shoulders. She had dark brown eyes that were crinkled into a kind smile and a very slight dimple on her left cheek. Adelaide wondered how she kept her teeth so white.

"Do you live here?" she politely asked in her small voice. Adelaide glanced back at the door behind her where her key was still in the keyhole. Obviously.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Oh!" she smiled, "That's wonderful! We just moved in today!"

"Of course you did," Adelaide mumbled to herself, wanting to get inside her apartment quickly. Her only experience with a neighbor consisted of a dying old man with a possessed cat and a bickering couple. She wasn't too fond of neighbors as it was.

"My name's Vivian Sung," she said, holding out her perfectly manicured hand. Adelaide glanced down at it and then up at her before sighing and shaking it. She couldn't tell if the girl couldn't see or was ignoring the bruises and burns on her face and arms.

"Ella," she said, pulling her hand away.

"Vivian?" her dad called, coming outside. He glanced at Adelaide skeptically. She didn't bother smiling at him. She had a feeling he wouldn't return it.

"Who's this?" he asked his daughter, giving Adelaide a dirty look.

"This is our neighbor, dad. Her name is Ella. This is my dad, Li Sung," she smiled. Adelaide nodded at him and he narrowed his eyes in response.

"我去拿最后一盒," he mumbled to her and marched off towards the elevator. Adelaide waited for the elevator doors to close before turning to Vivian again. _(I'll go get the last box.)_

"I actually have something for you," Vivian smiled, grabbing a rectangular box by the door. She handed it to her. "It came while you were away, and I didn't want it to get mixed up with the rest of the boxes so I put it aside. I hope you don't mind."

Adelaide read the label.

 _From Happy Hogan, Stark Tower._

 _For Adelaide Rivers._

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Ella," Vivian smiled politely. Adelaide looked up, snapping out of it. She wondered if the girl had read the label. Wasn't she curious? It wasn't everyday someone got a package from the Stark Tower. Maybe she had already opened it. "I hope I'll see you around."

 _Not if I can help it._

"Bye," she mumbled, turning around and opening the door to her apartment. Without looking back, she stepped inside and closed the door behind herself.

Adelaide stood there for a moment, focusing on her breaths as she relaxed. She stared at the spring coming out of the cushion on her couch. And then she stared at Happy's name on the box for a long time.

There should only be so much that was allowed to happen in one day.

* * *

 **A/N: Who loves Vivi already?**

 **There's definitely going to be more of her around and I've got a lot planned for her soon so I'm really excited! Btw, the language they were speaking was mandarin (I think) and I'm obv not fluent in it so if any of you speak that please lmk if there's mistakes!**

 _ **Question: How's school going for everyone? I know it sucks lol but summer vacation isn't that far away if you think about it! I just can't wait to graduate in 4 months :,)**_


	78. Chapter 74

**A/N: I forgot. I forgot** _ **again**_ **! Why do I always forget it's Wednesdayyyy ugh. I've had the longest week omg I'm so exhausted and all I wanna do rn is be a lil spoon but I don't have a boo, sadly :(**

 **So the last chapter was pretty angsty. Or no wait that was the chapter before. I don't even remember my own story damn. Anyway, this one's sad(ish).**

 **Okay so yeah I'm about to collapse from exhaustion but here's the new chapter :)**

* * *

 _"She died in a fire. Burned alive."_

* * *

 _Adelaide,_

 _I think this belongs to you. Thought you should know that Tony sold the Tower and moved out. We're at the Avengers Compound upstate now, if you're wondering. It'd be nice if you came to visit. I know I already said this, but he misses you. We all do. Please, come home._

 _Love,_

 _Happy._

Adelaide opened the package.

It was the Deathboard. And her suit.

* * *

 _Tony was at a funeral._

 _He didn't know whose it was. Everybody was crying, whispering things, staring at the ground. He didn't know any of these people. The coffin was at the front of the graveyard site. He began to make his way through the crowd of black coats and dresses and umbrellas._

 _The rain was pouring steadily, almost in an eerie sense. The sky was a dark gray, casting a miserable shadow onto everything under it. A crow crowed not too far away. It sounded like a laugh. Or maybe it was a warning._

 _"So young," someone whispered as he passed them._

 _"...should have paid more attention," someone else whispered._

 _"...never know when anything could happen."_

 _"Can't believe this. They should have been more careful. Anger can really change a person."_

 _"...I can't imagine how painful it must have been."_

 _Tony's heart began to beat more frantically as he heard the spectators' whispers. Who were they talking about? Who was in the coffin up there? He began to run through a list of people in his head, trying to remember when he had seen them last and what the last thing he'd said to them was._

 _Finally, he broke through the crowd._

 _In the front was a bare white casket. It was closed but there was a framed picture beside it sitting on an easel._

 _It was Adie._

 _"She died in a fire," a stranger taunted in his ear, "Burned alive. She tried to call you for help but you were too consumed with your anger to answer. They couldn't even fix her face enough for the funeral." The stranger laughed in his ear._

 _Tony stopped breathing._

 _His heart had just stopped. He looked around. Everything was in a negative light now. Had he died? The crow began crowing louder. The rain fell faster. It sounded like it was laughing at him. The crowd was getting scared._

 _He took an unsure step towards the coffin._

 _"She would still be alive if you had just answered the call," someone said. Their voice sounded distorted. If his heart had stopped, how was he still alive?_

 _"Heartless monster," someone hissed and the sound traveled into his ear like a snake slithering inside. But they were right. He didn't need a heart to stay alive. He really was a heartless monster._

 _He stopped in front of the coffin, looking down at it._

 _The rain stopped—it was holding its breath. The crows fell silent. The murmur of the crowd rippled towards him like a tidal wave and then they fell silent, too._

 _With a steady hand, he opened the casket._

 _The crows screamed. The rain blew everywhere. Thunder rolled in the sky. Behind him, the crowd shrieked._

 _Inside was burnt, blackened remnants of flesh._

* * *

This morning, Peter and Ned had decided to take the subway to school.

They were walking down the street together as Ned pelted him with a million questions. Peter had explained everything to him by now and the curiosity was bubbling out of his best friend. Peter wasn't sure how he felt about Ned knowing that he was Spider-Man, but it was too late to mull over that now and he had decided to move on.

"You got bit by a spider? Can it bite me?" Ned asked, "Well, it probably would've hurt, right? You know what? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me. Maybe. How much did it hurt?"

"The spider's dead, Ned," Peter sighed as they approached the end of the street. He shifted the books in his hand uncomfortably. With his backpack gone, he had to carry everything in his hand now. Which was a lot of stuff. Obviously, it wasn't heavy for him, but that didn't mean it was comfortable.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered to the sight in front of him.

"Woah," Ned breathed from beside him.

It was Delmar's.

Or, what was left of it. The deli had been burned to a blackened ash and it was swarming with officials from different departments. Peter could barely make out the name above the deli.

"You were here?" Ned asked.

Peter looked across the street at the bank where, sure enough, there were more officials crowding the area. Everything was marked off by _DO NOT CROSS_ tape and barricades.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"You could've died," Ned breathed. Peter realized he had no idea that Ada was the one who could have died. If he hadn't gotten there in time, the entire burning deli could have collapsed on her.

 _You said we were done. So stop acting like you still care._

He glanced at the caved in roof. He swallowed. What would he do if Ada had died? Was what she had done so unforgivable?

 _You're not a hero, Peter._

They both silently stared at the sight, lost in their thoughts.

"Do you lay eggs?" Ned suddenly blurted. Peter blinked and then turned to him.

"What?" he laughed, "No."

* * *

Ned continued to drown him with questions all morning.

"Can you spit venom?" Ned asked just as Peter closed his locker. He sighed.

"No," he said. This had to be the millionth question Ned had asked him and it was barely even nine in the morning.

"Can you summon an army of spiders?" Ned asked, following him down the hall even though his class was on the other end.

Peter withheld a sigh, "No, Ned."

* * *

"How far can you shoot your webs?" Ned asked, popping up behind him in the bathroom. Peter glared at his best friend's reflection in the mirror in front of him.

"It's unknown," he said.

"If I was you, I would stand on the edge of a building and just shoot it as far as I could—"

"Shut up, Ned," he sighed as he left him rambling in the bathroom.

* * *

"How fast can you swing? Is there a certain height?"

The librarian shushed him. Ned ignored her. Peter looked at him through a slit between books, through the shelf.

"No," he said quietly, taking out the book he needed. Ned's face appeared in the empty space. Peter glared at him, but his friend hardly seemed to notice it even care.

"What's the fastest you've swung? Wait — have you swung on top of the Empire State building!"

"Shh!" the librarian said again.

"No, Ned," Peter sighed, putting the book back on the shelf to cover his friend's face.

* * *

"You're all set, sweetheart," the woman behind the desk said, handing her a blue sheet of paper. She internally cringed at the name as it reminded her of the last person she wanted to think about right now. Adelaide looked over her schedule with a sigh.

 _Geometry_.

 _World History_.

 _Physical Education (PE)_.

 _Lunch_.

 _Chemistry II_.

 _Physics_.

"Have a wonderful day!" the lady told the teenager as she left her office. She couldn't have a wonderful day and have geometry first thing in the morning.

With the final warning bell ringing, Adelaide made her way to Geometry. She could only hope that no one she knew was in that class. With one minute left to spare, she walked inside the room. She quickly scanned all of the faces. There was only one person she knew and it was Michelle, sitting at the back of the classroom as usual.

Adelaide let out a breath of relief.

She didn't think she could handle seeing Ned again at the moment. And definitely not Peter. Especially after last night. She didn't want to talk to him until he became sensible enough to understand that he was wrong. Which could be never.

Adelaide sat down in a seat beside Michelle just as Mr. Big Ears began taking roll.

"Aaron?"

"Here."

"Bella?"

"Hey," she said to Michelle. The curly-haired girl looked up from her book, bored.

"I thought you were Flash for a second," she mumbled. Adelaide furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Michelle?"

"Here," she mumbled in the teacher's general direction.

"I can't tell if you're insulting me," Adelaide said. Michelle shrugged.

"Adelaide?" Mr. Big Ears said.

"Here," she sighed. He smiled at her. She didn't return it.

"Vivian?"

"You decide," Michelle said and then went back to her book, yawning as she flipped the page. Adelaide stared at her for a bit before shaking her head and looking away. The girl was impossible to understand.

"Vivian Sung?" Mr. Big Ears said, "No? Alright then. Let's get started. My name is Mr. Fulmer. Let's all go around and say one thing we did this summer."

Adelaide tossed her head back and groaned.

* * *

Yesterday, Adelaide had gotten somewhat lucky.

The only class she had had with anyone she knew had been with Ned. And that was just one class. She hoped today might pass similarly. The less social interaction the better.

When she walked into World History and spotted Ned sitting beside the only empty seat left, she let out a heavy sigh, cursing at her luck. She really had to start getting to class earlier. As the teacher began to call roll, she trudged over to the empty seat and lazily sat down, avoiding his gaze.

Then, a few minutes later, "Psst!"

Adelaide looked to her left to find Ned staring at her. She watched him in confusion.

"What?" she whispered. He vigorously shook his head as if he had just remembered something.

"Nothing," he whispered back. Adelaide gave him a strange look before turning away.

"I'm Mr. Reed and I will be your world history teacher," the teacher said. Great. The past. The one thing no one liked to study. Except Mr. Skinny Tie over here, of course.

"Adel—nevermind," Ned said before she could even turn to look at him. She frowned. What was going on with him? She decided to let it go this time. Maybe he was still mad at her.

"Open your textbooks to page 233," Mr. Reed said. Everyone pulled their textbooks out and the room was filled with the sound of flipping pages. Adelaide glanced at the heading in page 233. _Great Britain, the Power Hungry_. She sighed.

Then she heard the sound of paper crumpling and she turned her head to find Ned balling up a piece of paper while shaking his head vigorously. Adelaide watched him in confusion. What was his deal?

"What are you _doing_?" she whispered. Ned looked up at her like a deer caught in headlights. He looked around and then down at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He stuffed it deep into his backpack.

"N-Nothing," he mumbled, "Nothing at all."

"Why are you making that face?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. His eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously.

"I-I'm nothing—I mean, n-nothing. I don't know anything weird," he rambled.

Adelaide watched him for a moment longer before turning away. He was behaving strangely but it wasn't her business anymore. She reminded herself that the past was in the past and continued to listen to Mr. Skinny Tie lecture about history.

* * *

 **A/N: Sooo not much going on in this chapter and it's super short but the next chapter will be better! Hopefully. I have most of it written out anyway. Sorry about this one, I know it sucks but like I literally don't have time anymore so I'm trying my best :((**

 _ **Question: Do you think Ned will tell Adie?**_


	79. Chapter 75

**A/N: I. Am. So. Tired. (part of why im publishing this at 12 am and now normal human hours)**

 **Anyway, so life still sucks and school is still hell but Pelosi ripped up Trump's SOTU in front of the entire country and made my week so here I am :)**

 **This chapter is longer than usual! *cheering in the background* I know the chapters have been short lately, but I'd rather publish something versus nothing lol but y'all get more content with this one. Yay!**

* * *

 _"We thought you were a_

 _drug dealer when we first met you."_

* * *

 _"Hi. I'm Captain America. Whether you're in the classroom or on the battlefield..."_

"Do you know him too?" Ned whispered to Peter. They were sitting on the bleachers in gym class, watching the old tv as it played a clip of the super soldier teaching them fitness while standing in a green screen locker room, completely decked out in his suit.

"Yeah, we met," Peter whispered back, eyes trained on the tv. Ned's eyes widened and his jaw slackened. He couldn't believe it. Both of his best friends had met the Avengers. And they didn't even know about each other! He didn't think he was going to be able to keep in a secret as big as this in for much longer.

 _"...fitness can be the difference between success or failure,"_ Steve continued. Peter glanced at his best friend.

"I stole his shield," he bragged, feigning nonchalance.

" _What_?" Ned whispered in awe.

 _"Today, my good friend, your gym teacher..."_ Captain America said, pointing to his right. Everyone looked to the right to find no one standing there. And then they looked to the left to find their new coach standing there. He waved. Coach Stiles had been fired after he was found stealing the staff's lunches and they replaced him with Coach Wilson. Hopefully, he didn't have a powdered doughnut addiction.

 _"...will be conducting the Captain America Fitness Challenge_ ," Steve said and gave them a quick salute before the screen transitioned to picture of a patriotic eagle with text that read _Station I: Sit-ups_.

"Thank you, Captain," Coach Wilson said, "I'm pretty sure this guy's a war criminal now, but whatever. I have to show these videos. It's required by the state. Let's do it."

Then he blew his whistle.

* * *

Gym had become slightly more tolerable.

Considering that they didn't have a freak for a coach, Adelaide didn't find it as painful to suffer through. As Steve had ordered them in the Captain America Fitness Challenge, everyone was doing different stations. Adelaide was doing situps as Michelle held her feet down while reading a book. She sat up, glancing at the cover. _The Human Bondage._ Weird.

"Which part of me made you think I was Flash?" Adelaide asked as she sat up. Michelle didn't look up from her book.

"I don't know. Will you let it go?" she sighed.

"Was it the hair? Cause I can shave it off," she said with a frown, doing another situp. They were supposed to be counting these, but whatever.

"Adelaide," Michelle sighed, "Let it go."

"Why Flash of all people, though?" Adelaide huffed, sitting up again. Michelle finally pulled the book away from her face, glaring at her.

"Let. It. Go," she groaned. Adelaide studied her for a moment, thinking about something.

"It was my jacket, wasn't it? I'm going to burn it," she said and Michelle groaned, hitting herself with her book.

Meanwhile, Ned wasn't done with asking Peter questions. He was holding his feet down as Peter did situps, asking him a question every time he sat up.

"Do Avengers have to pay taxes?" Ned asked.

"Shh!" Peter grunted, sitting up.

"What does Hulk smell like?" Ned said as Peter sat up again.

"Shh!" he said angrily.

"I bet he smells nice," Ned said to himself. Adelaide hadn't let him ask her all these questions before so now he was pouring out all of his curiousness to Peter.

"You have to shut up," Peter groaned. Ned didn't even hear him.

"Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?" Ned said.

"Ned, just, _shh_ , okay?" Peter begged.

"Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?" he suddenly said. Peter sat up, giving him a strange look.

"What?" he said.

"Yeah. You know how there's a guy with a headset telling the other guy where to go?" Ned explained. Peter scrunched his nose.

"Like, like if you're stuck in a burning building, I could tell you where to go," he continued, "Because there'd be screens around me, and I could, you know, swivel around, and...

"Ned, shut up," Peter sighed.

"...Cause I could be your guy in the chair."

"Ned, I don't need a guy in the chair," he huffed, lying down again.

"Looking good, Parker," Coach Wilson said and Peter glanced at him with wide eyes. He hadn't realized how fast he was doing his situps. He pretended to be out of breath, as if the situps were really taking a toll on him.

Over by the bleachers, Liz and her friends were having their own conversation about the Avengers.

"Now, see, for me, it would be F Thor, marry Iron Man, and kill Hulk," Betty Brant said.

"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" Charles said.

"It's just Spider-Man," she shrugged carelessly. At the sound of his name, both Ned and Peter turned around to look at the bleachers to see them talking.

"Did you guys see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off _four_ guys," Liz said. Peter's eyes went wide. Holy crap. Did Liz just compliment him?!

"Oh my God, she's crushing on Spider-Man," Betty sighed.

"No way," Charles laughed.

"...Kind of?" Liz winced and Betty groaned.

"Ugh, gross," she said. Ned and Peter both shared a wide-eyed look before turning back to Liz and her friends.

"He's probably like, thirty," Betty continued.

"You don't even know what he looks like," Charles said, "Like, what if he's, like, seriously burned?"

"I wouldn't care," Liz shrugged, "I would still love him for the person he is on the inside."

"Peter knows Spider-Man!" Ned suddenly shouted and the entire gym went absolutely silent.

Peter's mouth fell open. As if it had just completely detached from his jaw.

He could _not_ believe Ned just said that.

He quickly scrambled up from his position, with Ned following suit. Adelaide and Michelle both shared a look before turning to watch what was going on. Well, Adelaide wasn't watching — Michelle went back to reading her book as if nothing was happening.

"N-No, I don't," he stuttered, feeling a panic rising in his chest, "No. I...I mean..."

"They're friends," Ned said, but it didn't make things much better. Adelaide pushed herself off the floor, taking a cautious step towards them. Why did Ned keep saying that? Did he know...?

"Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends," Flash said, jumping down from the climbing rope to join their conversation.

"I-I've met him. Y-Yeah. A couple times. B-But it's, um...through the Stark internship. Mm-hmm."

Peter turned around, looking over his shoulder to glare at Ned. Ned winced apologetically before Peter turned back to Liz again.

"Yeah, well," he started, "I-I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

"Well, that's awesome," Flash grinned and Peter knew he was going to say something to irk him, "Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party. Right?"

"Yeah, I'm having people over tonight," Liz said, tucking her hair behind her ears, "You're more than welcome to come."

"H-Having a party?" Peter stuttered. His eyes slightly widened. Adelaide rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, it's gonna be dope," Flash said, smirking at Peter, "You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man."

"Um..." Peter said. Everything was moving so fast, he didn't know how make sense of the conversation. He wished his spidey senses told him what someone was about to say. Adelaide wanted to pull him aside and ask him what the hell was going on and she would have — if this scenario had happened three months ago.

"It's okay," Liz said, swooping in to save him, "I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so..."

"Come on," Flash said, walking over to Peter to clasp his shoulder rather firmly, "He'll be there. Right, Parker?"

Before Peter could answer, the bell suddenly rang.

Liz caught Peter's eye and gave him a small nod before walking off while her friends and Flash followed her. Once they were out of earshot, Peter turned around, throwing his hands up in the air. He glared at his best friend for selling him out. Adelaide watching them, just out of earshot.

"What are you _doing_?" he hissed. He was so caught up in his anger that he didn't see

"Helping you out," Ned said, lowering his voice as he glanced around, "Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you."

Peter hesitated, trying to find a remark.

"Dude, you're an Avenger," Ned continued, "If any one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it's you."

Peter turned the idea over in his mind.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Michelle mumbled and Adelaide turned around to find the curly-haired girl standing behind her with her nose still in her book. Adelaide glared at her.

"I'm not staring," Adelaide grumbled. Michelle carelessly lifted a shoulder.

"Eavesdropping is unethical," she said.

"I can't hear them," she argued. Michelle shrugged again without looking up.

"You want to," she said. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"And you've never eavesdropped on anyone?" she asked her. Michelle didn't look up, but her eyes paused on a word on the page.

"Not to anyone's knowledge," she mumbled and then walked away. Adelaide rolled her eyes at her hypocrisy and turned around, only to find Peter and Ned both gone. She sighed to herself.

What had Ned been talking about?

* * *

Lunch was boring when there was no one to talk to.

Michelle wasn't the chattiest person alive and Adelaide didn't even bother trying to make a conversation. They were standing in the lunch line and Adelaide watched Michelle somehow fill up her tray while reading her book. Then she walked away to her usual lunch table and Adelaide grabbed a napkin before following her with a sigh.

Her eyes flitted to the banner hanging on the wall.

 **HOMECOMING** **!**

 _It's almost here! Are you ready?_

Adelaide scoffed to herself. As if she'd go to some stupid dance with a bunch of hormonal teenagers. She couldn't understand what all the fuss was about with the dates and dresses and dancing. Maybe if her main concern wasn't finding a job or paying the rent, then she'd worry about finding a date.

"Ella!" someone called.

Adelaide frowned to herself before she remembered that she was only Ella at her apartment complex. With a sigh, she began walking towards her usual seat.

"Ella!" someone said again.

She looked behind herself to find the black-haired girl from her apartment complex standing there talking to Liz. What the hell was she doing here at Midtown High? Adelaide tried to remember her name as she walked towards them. Violet? Vanessa? Damnit.

"Ella?" Liz said, glancing between the two of them curiously.

"It's a nickname," Adelaide covered. Her neighbor beamed.

"I didn't know you went here too!" she exclaimed. Adelaide could practically see the exclamation point at the end of her sentence. Did she have to be so excited about everything?

"Yeah," Adelaide mumbled.

 _Of course she goes here. Of course she does._

"You two know each other?" Liz asked. Adelaide didn't answer. She didn't want to add fuel to whatever idea that was growing in Liz's head. She had a feeling it would require her to socialize with...Venus? Whatever her name was, Adelaide didn't want to have to socialize with her.

"Yes!" the girl said cheerily, "We're neighbors."

"That's great!" Liz smiled. Adelaide prepared herself for the blow. Liz would drop it on her any second now. "Adelaide can catch you up on everything."

And there it was. The Liz Allen trademark. Forcing people to socialize since...well, since 2014.

"What's...everything, exactly?" Adelaide asked. She had a feeling she'd hate the answer.

"The decathlon," Liz said brightly, "We were just talking and I think she'd be a great addition to the team since Peter isn't coming. She would ace the language section – she speaks so many languages!"

"Oh...I don't know about joining the team," her neighbor said unsurely, "We just moved in and there's still so much unpacking we have to do..."

Yes. Exactly. So much unpacking. The decathlon would be so very much inconvenient. For once, she agreed with...Victoria! No, not Victoria. What the hell was her name?

"Adelaide will help you! You said you were neighbors, right?" Liz chimed in.

She had never so badly before wanted to kill someone. Which was really saying something. She closed her eyes, focusing on breathing through her nose.

"You will?" her neighbor asked in a small innocent voice that would have made Adelaide look like a complete bitch if she refused. Adelaide let out a sigh. Someone had to contain Liz and her kindness. It was really starting to get in her way of sulking and being alone.

"Sure," she breathed through gritted teeth. Liz beamed happily.

"Great! So glad to have you on the team, Vivian!"

 _Vivian!_

"Thank you, Liz," Vivian said sweetly and little Miss Perfect gifted them one more smile before walking away.

Adelaide internally groaned. She was going to have to do something about Liz. She was too...nice and smart and pretty. It was stepping on Adelaide's whole grumpy mean bitch vibe. No wonder Peter loved Liz. Who didn't? They'd be perfect together. Absolutely goddamn perfect. Nice and nicer. Polite and politer. And she could be on the side by herself, holding her own hand.

Adelaide realizing she was scowling.

"So do all your friends call you Ella?" Vivian asked, facing her. Adelaide grumbled something under her breath, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

"Just call me Adelaide if you have to," she sighed.

"It's a very pretty name," Vivian complimented with a polite smile.

"Thanks...I guess," she mumbled.

"Do you mind if I sit with you at your table? I don't really know where else to sit," Vivian said shyly. Adelaide had to physically hold herself back from rolling her eyes.

 _Sure, why don't you move in with me, too?_

"Fine," she sighed, leading her to the mostly empty table (minus a curly-haired girl sitting at the end). Adelaide sat down two seats away from Michelle and Vivian sat across from her.

"Hi, I'm Vivian," she greeted Michelle. The girl looked up from her book.

"Michelle." And then she went back to reading.

Adelaide stared at the pathetic tray in her hand. Nothing looked appetizing. Not even the granola bar she had brought from home. Now she couldn't even have Mr. Delmar's leftover subs. All her cabinets had were crackers and granola bars that she didn't remember actually buying. She'd have to stock up on groceries soon.

"It's such a coincidence that you go here too," Vivian said with a smile. God, did she ever stop smiling? What was there to smile so much about?

"Yeah," she mumbled, "Big coincidence." Adelaide preferred to call it bad luck. She began regretting her decision to come back to school. There was no Delmar's anymore anyway. She wouldn't have to worry about losing her job if she just never came back.

But, of course, she couldn't just drop out. She just...couldn't. It would be a dumb and reckless idea.

"The weather's nice today, isn't it?" Vivian said to her, looking outside. Adelaide glanced at her.

 _If you call pouring rain nice._

"If you call pouring rain nice," Michelle said without looking up from her book.

Adelaide froze. Was she turning into Michelle?

No. No way. It was just a coincidence. Nobody likes pouring rain.

"Nobody likes pouring rain," Michelle said and Adelaide's concern suddenly changed to wondering if Michelle could read her mind. Probably not. She was probably just crossing the line of grumpiness that Michelle lived at. It felt nice, though slightly unnerving.

"I do," Vivian said with a polite smile. Adelaide realized she was going to start looking for more adjectives to describe her smiles. She must have a whole library of them. "I think it's peaceful."

"Oh, yeah, me too," someone said, sitting down beside her.

Adelaide looked to her left to find Ned sitting there with a biggest smile on his face. He hadn't even noticed her sitting there.

"I-I'm N-Ned," he greeted. Vivian smiled (her smile just widened because she never actually stopped smiling to begin with).

"Vivian," she said.

"H-How come I haven't s-seen you b-before?" Ned stuttered. Adelaide watched him suspiciously with narrowed eyes as she chewed on her oatmeal, chia seed, peanut butter granola bar (it had a whole _fifteen_ grams of protein and not to mention the _complete_ lack of flavor).

"I just moved in yesterday," she answered, tucking her black hair behind her ears shyly, "Today's my first day here."

"Wow..." Ned sighed as if she'd just told him that she had won the Nobel prize.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Ned was playing at and she wasn't going to be a part of it.

"M-Maybe I could sh-show you around?" Ned asked, leaning forward to rest his chin in his palm. He could have been mistaken for being hypnotized.

"I would love that!" Vivian smiled, clearly not having a clue, "But maybe in a few days? Adelaide's actually helping me unpack—"

Adelaide closed her eyes.

"Wait—you know Adelaide?" Ned asked, looking at her with the widest eyes. She might as well have grown a horn on her head with the way he was looking at her.

"We're neighbors!" Vivian grinned.

Adelaide was really going to kill someone.

 _Stop! Telling! People! We're! Neighbors!_

"Neighbors?" Ned asked, "Huh. That's so cool." Adelaide avoided his gaze and focused on the chia seeds in her granola bar. They looked so wonderfully unappetizing. Any hunger she had before had vanished from the sight of this stale bar. Her annoyance, however, had only heightened. Vivian was a friendly monster, specifically designed to make life a living hell for antisocial people like her.

Ned cleared his throat.

Adelaide cleared her throat.

She took a big bite of her bar so she couldn't answer even if he asked her a question. Her nose wrinkled at the taste. Why the hell was she still eating this, again?

"Oh, I almost forgot! I have to meet with the counselor for my schedule," Vivian said, standing up as she checked her watch. She smiled at them politely. If only Adelaide had a dollar for every time that girl smiled, she'd never have to find another job. Adelaide gave her the most forced smile anyone had ever forced before in the history of the universe. "See you guys."

"Bye, Vivian," Ned sighed, waving. As soon as she left the cafeteria, Ned was onto her.

"Adelaide, you have to—"

"No," she said immediately. Ned frowned.

"But why?" he whined. Adelaide sighed deeply.

"Ned, I am _not_ hooking you two up. She could be part of the mafia, for all I know!" she argued. Her bar was finished and she couldn't stuff her face with it anymore to avoid his questions. She couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing, considering the bar.

"Okay. Hear me out," Ned said, looking like he was about to make a really big and valid point, "What if...she's not?" She turned to him, giving him a hard look.

"Ned."

"Adelaide."

"She could be a drug dealer."

"We thought you were a drug dealer when we first met you."

"Wait—really?" How come she hadn't heard about this before? Which part of her made her look like a drug dealer?

"Does that flatter you?" he asked hopefully.

"Well—"

"Adelaide, come onnn," he whined. Adelaide frowned at him.

"So you like her?" she asked. He gave her a look.

"Have I not been clear enough? Do you need to me write it down or something?" he asked.

"You don't even know her," she argued, "That's so shallow."

"It's called love at first sight," he sighed, getting lost in his head again. Adelaide rolled her eyes. Michelle scoffed.

"It's called it bullshit," she said. Michelle looked up from her book in surprise. Maybe Adelaide had read her mind this time. She ignored her for the moment being.

"Please?" he said.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Ned," she sighed.

"I'll do all your homework for a week."

"Done."

And just like that, she and Ned were okay again.

* * *

Adelaide walked into her second to last class of the day, completely drained.

Between having nearly died, losing her job, fighting with Peter, and finding out that Tony was moving yesterday, she didn't have the energy to go through today. By some miracle, she had managed to survive without killing someone.

Yet, somehow, life wasn't done beating her up.

So when she walked into Chem II, there was Peter sitting at a lab table, already wearing his safety goggles. He looked up, catching her eye and gave her an angry look.

She glared at him and then walked past him, taking a seat beside a girl at the table behind him. The teacher wasn't here yet so Adelaide leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest. She glared at the back of Peter's head, feeling herself getting angrier over nothing.

 _You said we were done. So stop acting like you care._

 _That doesn't mean I want you to die._

He had said it himself. They were done. She swallowed angrily, gritting her teeth and looking away. If they were done, then why couldn't she stop getting angry? Why the hell did she still care that he was mad at her or that he was doing the wrong thing?

 _Just get out – get out of my life! I don't ever want to see you again!_

She set her lips into a thin line. She still remembered exactly what he had said to her nearly three months ago. And it had hurt. A lot. Not only that, but she had begged him to forgive her for days and he never said anything. Hell, she had been willing to admit that she was wrong to stop him from killing a man. But fine. If he thought that she was the villain, then fine.

She'd stop caring soon enough anyway.

"Excuse me?" the girl beside her said. Adelaide looked over at her. She smiled and another girl standing behind her smiled at her as well.

"What?" she said, just as the teacher walked in.

"Would you mind moving to a different seat, please? I had actually saved this seat for my sister so we could be lab partners and..."

Adelaide glared at her. She was about to say _no_ when the teacher interrupted them.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, looking between the three girls. Everyone in the class turned around to look at them. The sisters looked at her.

"No," Adelaide grumbled through gritted teeth, "there's not."

She sighed and grabbed her backpack off the floor. She didn't have it in her to argue with them at the moment.

"Thank you!" they whispered to her as she gave up her seat. Adelaide ignored them, glancing around the room for an empty seat.

She found one.

Except.

She sighed heavily, wanting to scream at her luck. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she marched over to the only empty seat in the classroom and sat down in the chair, nearly throwing her backpack against the wall.

Peter rolled his eyes angrily and let out a huff of breath.

"Come on," he groaned to himself.

Adelaide ignored him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alright, let's get started," the teacher said, "I'm Mrs. Garcia and this is the Chem II class. The seats you are at right now will be your assigned seats and the person you are sharing the lab table with will be your lab partner for the rest of the semester."

Adelaide could hear the sisters squealing.

* * *

 **A/N** : **sksks look at all this aNgSt. Man, I loveee writing angst. Mainly because I know how much they're both gonna be so in love in a few dozen chapters that they'll barely know each other's names. Like I always say, you can't have teenage romance without angst.**

 **Also! What do you think about Ned and Vivi?! I'm soo excited for them! :)**

 **So I saw the marvel trailers drop during the super bowl and I freaking screamed. I'm so excited for the Wanda Vision one cause the Scarlet Witch is my favorite and I've seen like that 12 second clip a million times now but it still doesn't make any sense to me but not to mention that Bucky found Zemo! Like wtf I can't keep up with all this and— LOKI IS ALIVEEE ASDFGHJKKRLSJ**

 **Marvel really knows how to hype me up :,)**

 _ **Question: Who would you fuck, marry, kill between the Avengers? *side eyes***_


	80. Chapter 76

**A/N: Who else is ready to collapse into their bed? It really be like that sometimes :((**

 **So this is pretty much just a filler chapter, but, in other news, I wrote the epilogue of this book and I even started a spinoff (that has no plot whatsoever) about** _ **another**_ **teenager *wink wink* if you know, you know**

 **Anyway...long story short, I am out of control and I will write anything except for the next chapter I need to publish. I mean, I barely got this one out on time :(**

* * *

" _Hey, come on._

 _You gonna shoot at_

 _somebody, shoot at me"_

* * *

 _"DJ Flash!"_

"Okay," Ned said as soon as they walked through Liz's door, "We're gonna have Spider-Man swing in, say you guys are tight, and then I get a fist bump or one of those half bro-hugs." Peter nodded, still looking around in daze. He couldn't believe he was at Liz Allen's house. It was insane.

"Can't believe you guys are at this lame party," someone said and both boys looked over to see Michelle standing there...spreading jam on a slice of toast? Who ate toast at a party?

"But you're here too," Ned argued. Michelle leaned forward, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Am I?" she said. Then she took a bite of her toast without breaking eye contact and walked away.

"Oh, my gosh," someone said and Peter turned to find Liz standing there. She was laughing at something someone said to her and then she noticed them standing there. She waved and began walking towards them. His eyes went wide and he swallowed.

 _Be cool, be cool, be cool._

"Hey, guys," she greeted them with a smile, "Cool hat, Ned." Ned beamed.

"Hi, Liz," he said.

"Hi, Liz," Peter heard himself saying in a high-pitched, squeaky voice that he hadn't used since he was 10 years old. Thankfully, Liz didn't seem to notice.

"I'm so happy you guys came," she smiled, "There's pizza and drinks. Help yourself."

"What a great party," Peter said, his voice still ridiculously high. He cleared his throat and reminded himself that his eyes were still widened. He blinked out of it.

"Thanks," she said. They both smiled at each other awkwardly for a moment as Peter struggled to find something to say. Suddenly, there was the sound of someone breaking glass in the kitchen which caught her attention.

"Oh, I..." she started, "My parents will kill me if anything's broken. I gotta–"

"Yeah," Peter squeaked. Liz smiled.

"Have fun," she said, walking away from them.

"Bye," Ned said. Peter couldn't get his voice working to say bye too.

"Bye," she said, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Ned whispered once she was out of earshot, "She's here. Spider it up."

"No," Peter said, shaking his head, "no, no. I can't...I cannot do this. Spider-Man is _not_ a party trick, okay? Look, I'm just gonna...be myself." Ned sighed, giving him a look.

"Peter, no one wants that," he said.

"Dude," Peter said and then began to walk away, slightly hurt by the remark.

 _"Penis Parker, what's up?"_ Flash said into the speaker system. Peter sighed. Great. Just what this party was missing.

 _"So, where's your pal Spider-Man?"_ Flash said, _"Let me guess. In Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?"_

Everyone around them laughed.

 _"That's not Spider-Man,"_ Flash laughed, _"That's just Ned in a red shirt."_

Everyone booed and Flash played a blaring honking noise over the speaker system. Peter frowned.

Enough was enough.

* * *

Thanks to Liz, Adelaide was stuck cleaning on a perfectly good Friday night.

Not that she had anything better to do.

But still.

"Where do you want this?" Adelaide mumbled, holding up a box of Japanese movie posters.

"Just put it over by the bed," Vivian said. She was digging through a different box, shuffling around the room and trying to organize everything.

"Thanks for helping me with all this, by the way," Vivian smiled, "I know it's not the best way to spend your Friday night, but...I really appreciate it."

"Hm," Adelaide said, not paying much attention.

"I was worried I was going to have to make new friends all over again and I'm not the best at making friends," she laughed, cutting open another box. She was in sweats and an oversized sweatshirt with her thick black hair tied up into a messy bun that had more locks of hair fallen out of it than tied in the hair-tie. Somehow, she still didn't look like a homeless psychopath.

Adelaide was about to just drop the box of posters by the bed, but she paused and then gently put it down. She frowned at the box, standing up straight again.

"So how long have you been living in New York?" Vivian asked. Her dad was out somewhere, which was the only reason Adelaide was still here. She couldn't stand that grumpy old man. She picked up some tape off the carpet, tossing it in the trash can.

"A couple years," she shrugged.

"Cool. My dad and I used to live Japan and then we moved to Chelsea a couple years ago, but then he was relocated to Queens. Feels almost the same. Definitely feels safer," she laughed, "Back in Chelsea, it was dangerous to just own a car. And here...well, at least there's Spider-Man."

Adelaide scoffed. Yeah. Spider-Man. Big reassurance there. What would Queens be without a superhero who was only out every night to kill a man for revenge? Oh, that's right. It might actually be safe for a change.

"So have you done the decathlon before?" Vivian asked, digging through a duffel bag.

Adelaide sat down in her desk chair, leaning back and spinning around. Her eyes caught a photo frame sitting on the bedside table. It was three people. Vivian, her dad, and what looked like her mom.

"No," Adelaide mumbled.

"Really? I guess we'll both be doing it for the first time this year then. My old high school didn't have anything like this," she smiled.

"Yeah..." Adelaide sighed. She didn't know how to make it any more obvious that she didn't want to be here.

Of course, Vivian knew. But she was used to people being cold around her. And she knew when sometimes they just needed time to warm up to her. She reached into one of the smaller boxes by the bed and pulled out something.

"Here," she said, handing Adelaide a small box. Adelaide glanced at the label. Her eyes furrowed in confusion.

"Burn cream," Vivian explained with an unsure smile, "I, uh...noticed the marks on your arm yesterday so I thought..."

Adelaide blinked.

She swallowed, taking the box into her hand unsurely. What just happened?

"Oh...um, thanks," she mumbled, "I..."

"You don't have to explain," she smiled, "just take care of yourself."

Adelaide didn't know what to make of this gesture. Her mind was turning up a blank. She had barely remembered this girl's name this morning, and yet she had noticed that little detail about her when not even Ned or Michelle had noticed it.

Adelaide had repeatedly made it obvious that she wanted nothing to do with her, and yet here she was, with someone who'd barely known her for a day, who was actually noticing her. She didn't know how to take it. Was this considered being too nosy? Or was it considered just being nice?

Adelaide hadn't had someone take care of her in so long, she'd nearly forgotten what it felt like. She had almost become invisible in the past three months, even to herself. Just...fading through every day without actually being present.

"I, um...I will," she said quietly, wrapping her hand around the box.

There was a small silence.

It was a good, calm silence. Adelaide hadn't realized how much she had been rushing through her days until now, when she finally paused for a moment to herself. It was peaceful. And she realized how tired she really was. Mentally, physically, emotionally.

It was moments like these when she wondered how she was still just 15 years old.

"Do you want something to eat? We don't have much besides leftover takeout," Vivian said, breaking the silence.

Adelaide's eyes flickered to her in surprise. Somehow, her ever present smile seemed...kinder.

"Um, no...thanks. I'm just...I'm just gonna go home," she mumbled, still collecting her thoughts. She stumbled out of the chair, shaking her head to herself. She had to get out of here.

"Okay, see you tomorrow then," Vivian smiled, "Thanks again for helping out."

Adelaide looked at her for a moment longer before pushing open the door and nearly running out of the apartment.

* * *

"Hey, what's up? I'm Spider-Man," Peter muttered to himself.

He was sitting on a rooftop across from Liz's house, watching the party through the window in his Spider-Man suit.

"Just thought I'd swing by and say hello to my buddy Peter. Oh, what's up, Ned? Hey, where's Peter, anyways? He must be around..." Peter sighed, trailing off. This was ridiculous.

"God, this is stupid. What am I doing?" he muttered, running his hand through his hair in defeat. It was like he had told Ned - Spider-Man wasn't a party trick. This was all a stupid idea. He spotted Ned through the window, looking around for him. He sighed.

Just then, a bright light to his left caught his attention.

There, past all the trees, was a bright blue explosion of light, almost like an atomic explosion.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself. He stood up straight, forgetting about the party as he ran across the roof while pulling his mask on. He shot out a web, swinging through trees until he landed on another rooftop. Then he flipped off the rooftop and landed on the street, in front of a golf course and shot out a web over it.

It flew off his web shooter, having nothing to attach itself to on the wide open golf course.

With a determined sigh, he began sprinting across the golf course. Just then, the sprinklers became activated and sprayed around freezing cold water at him.

"This sucks!" he gasped.

* * *

Beside the bridge, there was another explosion of blue light. This time it was directed towards a car which was blasted by the force of the weapon immediately.

"Now, this is crafted from a reclaimed sub-Ultron arm straight from Sokovia," the guy in the beanie said, holding out the weapon to the buyer, "Here. You try."

"Man, I wanted something low-key," the guy in the red shirt said, "Why are you trying to upsell me, man?"

Unknown to the arms dealers (and buyer), Spider-Man was crawling on the bridge, silently spying on them.

"Okay, okay, okay," the beanie guy said, "I got what you need, all right? I got tons of great stuff here. One sec." He stuck his head into the back of the van which was filled with a multitude of different alien weapons. Peter's eyes narrowed at him.

"Okay, I got, uh, black hole grenades, Chitauri railguns..." the beanie guy listed, shuffling through the stuff.

"You letting off shots in public now?" another guy said, walking up to the buyer, "Hurry up. Look, times are changing. We're the only ones selling these high tech weapons."

"Oh, this must be where the ATM robbers got their stuff," Peter whispered to himself. A shot of adrenaline raced through him. This was real stuff. Not just bike thieves or pickpockets. It was the real deal. Alien weapons! How cool was that!

"I need something to stick up somebody. I'm not trying to shoot them back in time," the buyer said.

"I got anti-grav climbers..." the guy in the van said. Apparently, he was still listing the stuff he had. Peter's eyes widened. That was a lot of dangerous weapons. If they got out on the streets...

"Yo, climbers?" the buyers said, walking over to the van.

Suddenly, a loud yodeling ringtone began playing.

Peter gasped to himself, scurrying to to turn it off.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" one of the guys said, standing up defensively. Peter glanced at the caller ID. Ned. Peter inwardly cursed, switching it off.

"Did you set us up?" one of the sellers said, aiming his gun at the buyer. The guy in the red shirt put his hands up, taking a step back.

"Hey, hey, man," he said, weary.

Peter flipped himself off the bridge, effectively catching their attention.

"Hey! Hey, come on. You gonna shoot at somebody, shoot at me," he said. The seller moved to aim the gun at him.

"All right," he said, pulling the trigger.

Peter shot out his web, taking the gun and then ran towards him at full speed. Last second, he dodged and the guy in the van suddenly turned around, punching Peter with an electrified alien arm.

He flew back, slamming hard into the side of the bridge.

He groaned in pain, falling onto the ground while clutching his side. What the hell? He made a note to himself to not tell a criminal to shoot him.

"What was that?" he mumbled to himself as he pushed himself off the ground.

Suddenly, one of the sellers jumped into the van and started it while the other guy in the beanie got into the back of the van as the car began to speed away.

Without thinking twice, Peter shot out his web at the open van door.

His eyes widened as the van began to dragging him behind with it. He frantically tried to slow it down or at least get back in control, but, suddenly, the van swerved to the side and flung Peter into a trashcan.

"What? Ah!" he shouted, coughing. He shot another web aimlessly, desperately trying to gain control again. It attached to the van and he tried to steady his feet to find balance.

"We gotta call him," the guy driving said to his friend.

"No, no, no, no," he said immediately, readying another high tech weapon.

The guy in the beanie fired another blast of energy and it took out one of the van doors.

"Did you just do it again?" the driver shouted angrily. Boss was going to kill them.

"Shut up," he spat, readying it again.

"I'm calling him!" he shouted.

Meanwhile, poor Peter was still being dragged through the neighborhood, just barely clinging to the back of the van.

"Oh, my butt! Agh!" he shouted, wincing in pain.

This was _not_ how this was supposed to go.

Beanie guy continued to relentlessly fire more blasts at Peter every time he was about to gain his balance. With another blast, Peter lost his grip on one of the webs. Peter's eyes widened and he began to wave his arm around frantically, trying to secure a web on the van again.

Just as he was about to fire another shot, the van hit a road bump and he accidentally blasted a hole in the van. He dropped it and it rolled out of his hands, coming to a stop in someone's front yard.

Suddenly, the driver made a sharp turn, making Peter slam into the side of a parked car. Without a break, the van dragged him through a line of garbage bins until he hit a solid brick pillar and fell onto the road along with a heap of bricks. He groaned in pain, but quickly pushed himself upright and shot another web at the speeding van. It latched onto the van door, but instead of pulling him towards the car, it door broke off, flying off.

He threw his arms up, exasperated.

"Great. Guess I'm gonna have to take a shortcut," he sighed.

Quickly, he began jogging down the sidewalk. As he approached a tall metal gate in front of someone's house, he jumped over it and then slid over their car, picking up his pace. He saw two guys playing ping-pong in the garage as he sprinted past them.

"Hey, guys. Good game. Have fun," he said. Both guys watched after him in disbelief as he sprinted across their yard. Just then, a dog ran into the teenager, standing on his hind legs.

"Hey, hey, buddy. Sorry, no time to play," he frowned, shooting a web out to catch the ball sitting in the grass across the yard and then threw it aside, "Here, go fetch."

Once he found a clearing between the houses, he shot his web out and began swinging through the neighborhood.

"Whoo! Now, this is more like it," he grinned to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, things at the party weren't going so well _._

Ned was standing in an empty corner he had found, trying to get to Peter, but he wasn't picking up his phone. It was going straight to voicemail.

"Peter, where are you?" Ned whispered. "The hat's not working. This is _not_ cool."

* * *

 **A/N: sorta boring chapter, i know, i'm sorry i literally just wrote this whole thing yesterday after i finished studying for my test so yeah :/**

 **in other news, college is icky and it's taking too much of my time so nothing new there**

 **anyway, fun fact, the actor who plays beanie guy in homecoming actually graduated from the university i'm going to next year. i thought that was so cool lol.**

 _ **question: do you like vivi a lil' more now? she's the sweetest 3**_


	81. Chapter 77

**A/N: Hey guys! So sorry this chapter was a bit delayed. I wasn't finished with it last night, but, luckily, I finished it today somehow.**

 **Anyway, to make up for my lateness, this chapter is a little longer than usual!**

 **Alright, have fun reading it and then don't keep procrastinating on wattpad. Go back and do your homework. Yes, I'm talking to you, person with a dozen random tabs open *definitely isn't procrastinating watching videos of tom holland playing with dogs***

* * *

 _"I thought this was the antigravity gun."_

* * *

The van was speeding through the neighborhood as Peter desperately tried to follow it.

"Almost got you," he grunted, swinging through the trees and parkouring over the houses. He nearly lost his balance when a few slates slipped out from under his feet.

"Thought you got away from me, didn't you?" he panted, flipping over a chimney, "I got you right where I want you."

"Surprise!" he grinned, jumping off the rooftop directly onto the van. But before he could actually land on the van, something snatched him from behind, flying him up into the sky.

"What the hell?" he screamed, wrestling to pull his leg free from whatever it was that was flying him through the sky.

Instead of loosening his grip on Peter's leg, the Vulture flew him up even higher. The world spun around Peter as he tried to figure out which way was down. Suddenly, the spider on the back of Peter's suit began to beep and blink. A parachute unfolded itself from the hidden compartment and the air resistance from it ripped Peter from Vulture's grasp.

Peter screamed as he torpedoed toward the ground and the parachute became tangled around him. He struggled inside the parachute, desperately trying to break through enough to at least figure out where he was about to fall and die.

Suddenly, his feet hit something hard like concrete, but then pulled him under. The Hudson. The parachute somehow became even more tangled around him as he fought to find the surface. He was sinking fast.

Just then, someone pulled him up, out of the water.

Peter gasped, shaking his head. Was it the guy with the wings again?

"Huh?" he looked up in daze, only to see Iron Man flying him through the air, "Oh, hey."

* * *

"And then he just, he just, like, swooped down like a monster and he picked me up and, uh, he took me up, like, a thousand feet and just dropped me," Peter narrated, wringing the water out of his mask. They had ended up in a playground and he was sitting on a dome climber, shivering, "How'd you find me? Did you put a tracker in my suit or something?"

"I put everything in your suit. Including this heater," Mr. Stark said and suddenly, his suit dried instantly and steam rose from it.

"Whoa!" Peter breathed, "Whew, that's better. Thanks."

"What were you _thinking_?" Mr. Stark scolded. He was still floating in the air.

"The guy with the wings is obviously the source of the weapons. I gotta take him down," Peter said.

"Take him _down_ now, huh? Steady, Crockett, there are people who handle this sort of thing," he said. Peter looked at him.

"The Avengers?"

"No, no, no. This is a little below their pay grade," Mr. Stark said.

"Anyway, Mr. Stark, you didn't have to come all the way out here. I had that. I was fine," Peter said even though he was beyond excited that he was here. After all these months of radio silence, he was finally here. Maybe they could work together on figuring out how to stop–

"Oh, I'm not...here," Mr. Stark said.

The helmet on the suit opened, revealing that the suit was empty and no one was inside.

Tony, in reality, was attending a wedding in India. Definitely not because he had to run away from Manhattan because the memories of a certain teenager were haunting him. Definitely not. At all.

"Thank God this place has Wi-Fi or you would be toast right now. Thank Ganesh while you're at it," he muttered. A man walked up to him with a drink and Tony took it gratefully, raising the glass up to him in gratitude.

"Cheers," he mumbled and the man smiled widely before walking away, "Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please." Peter looked up in surprise.

"Why?" he asked, crestfallen.

"Why? Because I said so!" he said and a woman walked up to him, holding a flower garland. Tony leaned down so she could put it around his neck.

"Sorry, I'm talking to a teenager," he mumbled to her, but she walked away, obviously not caring, "Stay close to the ground. Build up your game helping little people, like that lady that bought you the churro. Can't you just be a friendly...neighborhood Spider-Man?"

"But I'm ready for more than that now!" Peter argued. They were back at square one. In fact, Mr. Stark had never left square one when here Peter was imagining the two of them taking the Vulture out together.

"No, you are not," Mr. Stark said and his suit closed as if to emphasize his point.

"That is not what you thought when I took on Captain America," Peter said, feeling slightly hurt.

"Trust me, kid. If Cap wanted to lay you out, he would've," Mr. Stark said, "Listen to me. If you come across these weapons again, call Happy." Peter heard an engine revving.

"Are you driving?" he asked the suit. Tony got into his Audi and shut the door.

 **"** You know, it's never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT," he said and then turned to his phone, "End call."

"No, I don't need to go to col– Mr. Stark–"

 _"Mr. Stark is no longer connected."_

Then the suit flew off and Peter slouched with a heavy sigh.

"That's awesome," he mumbled to himself. A moment later, he pushed himself off the dome and landed on the wood chips. He kicked at them and then sighed again, walking out of the playground. He stuck to the sidewalk, making his way down the neighborhood. He pulled his mask on.

"Stay close to the ground? What is he talking about?" he muttered to himself, kicking at the ground.

Suddenly, something glinting in the grass caught his eye. He stopped walking and cautiously walked towards it, crouching down. It was a piece of the damaged weapon that had fallen out of the van. He carefully picked it up into his hand, flipping it over.

"Whoa," he whispered in awe.

Just then, his phone began ringing again. He answered it without glancing at the caller ID. He knew it was Ned.

"Hey, man, what's up? I'm on my way back," he said, staring at the glowing weapon in his hand.

 _"Actually, I was calling to say maybe you shouldn't come. Listen to this."_ Peter waited, listening.

 _"When I say "penis," you say "Parker." Penis!"_

 _"Parker!"_

 _"Penis!"_

 _"Parker!"_

 _"Sorry, Peter. I guess we're still losers. I'll see you tomorrow,"_ Ned sighed. Peter didn't feel as bad as he would have, however. Considering everything that had happened tonight.

"I'll see you tomorrow in school," he said, hanging up.

He held up the weapon, looking at it determinedly.

* * *

Adrian landed on the platform with a loud thud, still in his Vulture suit. He stepped out of it and walked down the stairs, stomping angrily as he mumbled something to himself.

"Idiots. Idiots," he said and snatched his helmet off his head, hurling it at the wall, "Idiots!"

Mason the mechanic looked up at his boss having a tantrum and then glanced over at Flint, pursing his lips. Flint studied Adrian carefully.

"Boss," Mason said, "Your wife keeps texting you. Something about a brake light?" Adrian turned to him, his face twisted into an angry expression. Mason looked unaffected.

"What'd I tell you about looking at my phone?" he hissed.

"Oh, sorry. You left it out. You know I'm a curious person by nature," Mason shrugged. Adrian snatched the phone from his hands, glancing at it for a moment before looking up at Flint who was messing with a new sort of gun-type weapon.

"I finished designing that high-altitude vacuum seal," Mason said.

"Huh?" Adrian mumbled, not really paying attention.

"In case you want to, you know, go for the big one?"

"You're still on that? I told you, no. The answer's no," Adrian said firmly, "Forget it."

Just then, a van pulled into the warehouse. Adrian shared a look with Mason before turning away towards the van as Brice jumped out from the back of the van.

"Whoo!" Brice whooped, grinning, "I mean, that was badass." Annoyed, Adrian walked toward Brice.

"How many times have I told you not to fire them out in the open?" Adrian hissed, feeling his anger rising again.

"You said, move the merchandise," Brice shrugged carelessly, walking past him.

"Under the radar. _Under_ the radar!" Adrian shouted after him, "That's how we survive. If you bring Damage Control or the Avengers down here, we're through. You're out there wearing that goofy thing, lightning up cars, calling yourself the Shocker. 'I'm the Shocker. I shock people.' What is this, pro wrestling?"

"Ah, whatever, old man. Come on," Brice rolled his eyes, messing with something on Mason's desk. Mason didn't look too happy with it and he slapped his hand away. Brice gave him a dirty look, stealing his beanie off the table.

"Look, look," Adrian said, following him to the desk, "I know you don't give a crap about anything. But I do. I built this whole place because I got people I have to look after."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," Brice mumbled carelessly, rolling his tongue over his front teeth in a bored manner. Adrian stared at him, his expression cold.

"You know what? I can't afford your bullshit. Get out of here," Adrian said and Flint looked up, glancing between the two.

"What?" Brice said, finally listening.

"You're done. You're off the crew," Adrian said coldly.

"Yeah, all right. All right. Wonder if you can afford me out there, though, right?" Brice shrugged, walking away. He stopped, looking over his shoulder, "With everything I know."

"Excuse me?" Adrian said.

"I'm just saying..." Brice said suggestively, "...maybe your wife would like to know where you really get your money from."

"You know what?" Adrian said, narrowing his eyes.

"What?" Brice said.

"You're right," Adrian said and then turned to Flint who still had the giant weapon in his hand, "That work?"

"I don't know," Flint shrugged and Adrian took it from him anyway. He aimed it at Brice.

"I can't afford that," Adrian said, firing the weapon. A blue ray zapped Brice, immediately burning him to ashes. His gauntlet clattered to the ground and for a moment, the warehouse was silent.

"Damn," Schultz mumbled, staring at Brice's ashes.

"I thought this was the antigravity gun," Adrian told Flint.

"What? No, that's that one," Mason said, pointing to another weapon. Adrian dropped the weapon in his hand onto the table and walked over to the heap of ashes on the ground. He picked up the gauntlet and dusted off the ashes. Flint was watching him carefully. Then he tossed it to Schultz.

"Here. Now you're the Shocker. Go out there and find that weapon he lost," he ordered.

"All right."

* * *

Adelaide knew something was up.

After what had gone down in gym yesterday, she knew something was fishy. And being nosy was one of her best qualities so she had decided to poke around a bit.

Ned had said that Peter knew Spider-Man. Now that could mean two things.

Either Peter had convinced him that Spider-Man was his friend like she had convinced them that Timothy Lark was her uncle. Or Ned knew Peter's secret. But what she couldn't understand was why Peter would tell Ned. He'd been Spider-Man for almost a year now and he had never even told her – until he had to. So did Peter tell Ned or did he find out like when he had found out about her being the Blue Phantom? Did Ned know at all?

Being as curious as she was, Adelaide entered World History prepared.

She took her seat beside Ned, staring straight at the board. He was onto her immediately.

"So?" he asked, leaning forward expectedly. She turned to him.

"What?" she asked.

"You know – Vivian. Did you talk to her about...you know?" he asked excitedly. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Ned, I've known her for a total of two days. We're not braiding each other's hair at this point," she said. Although, certain people were giving certain people burn cream. Adelaide shook that thought away.

"But girls bond really fast, don't they?" he asked with a frown.

"Not true," she said, "Anyway, I wanna know what happened yesterday in gym."

"Uh...what?" Ned asked, leaning back into his seat. Oh, yeah he was definitely hiding something. She knew him well enough to be able to tell just by the look on his face. She'd have to be careful, though. If Ned really didn't know Peter's secret, she didn't want to accidentally tell him.

"'Peter knows Spider-Man'? What was that all about?" she pressed.

"I-I don't know," he stuttered, eyes darting around, "Do you think Viv would go to Homecoming with me if I asked her?"

"Viv?" Adelaide asked, raising her eyebrow. Ned shrugged, looking away dreamily.

"I feel like she could wear a purple dress and then I'd wear a purple tie and hat to match. We could slow dance to that one song by the Beatles," he sighed. She was losing him.

"Ned. Ned," she said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. He blinked, looking at her once again. "You didn't answer my question."

"I-It was nothing," he said. He had already contemplated telling her the day after he had found out, but it had just felt wrong. But it was _so hard_ to keep a secret as big as this inside. Especially from one of his best friends.

"Fine," she said, obviously not believing a word.

She would just have to find out on her own.

* * *

"Today we will be continuing the Captain America Fitness challenge," Coach Wilson said.

Adelaide glanced at Michelle. She had picked up a new book, _Making Yourself Invisible._ Adelaide blinked at the cover, wondering if that was Michelle's way of sending her a message or if she really was studying to become invisible. In all honesty, she wasn't doing such a bad job of it already. It was so easy to forget that she was there to begin with sometimes.

"We're going to be repeating yesterday's exercises, except I want you to switch up partners so it's not the same two people," he said and then blew his whistle, "Let's get into positions!"

Adelaide turned to her only other friend, but he was already talking up Vivian who nodded with a smile. She let out a breath, turning around. There was Michelle, standing with Lee. Adelaide sighed. She really needed to make more friends. To use as gym partners at least.

"Adelaide?" Coach Wilson said, "Where's your partner?"

"With someone else," she mumbled under her breath, glaring at the back of Ned's head who was oblivious.

"What's that?" Coach Wilson said. Adelaide sighed.

"Nothing," she said.

"Alright you're with Parker, we need to get moving. Quickly!"

"But—"

But he was already walking away, yelling at Flash for throwing a frisbee around. Adelaide slouched, rolling her eyes. When she turned around, Peter was already walking towards her. She glared at him.

"Come on," she groaned in mockery, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Not my fault," he snapped, coming to stand beside her. She looked away.

"Shut up," she snapped back. Wilson blew his whistle again.

"Get into position! We only have an hour," he said and everyone scattered. Adelaide dragged herself to the sit-ups station, finding a mat for herself.

"I'll go first," Peter mumbled, getting on the mat. At this point, even his voice was making her angry. And for some reason, so was his hair. Especially that one goddamn curl that was always hanging in his forehead. So annoying. She just wanted to push it off his face and back into his hair.

He laid down and she sat down in front of him, holding down his feet.

Peter looked away with an angry sigh. God, why were her eyes so blue? Even that was annoying him.

Wilson blew his whistle, "Start!"

He began doing sit-ups, remembering to go slowly this time. Adelaide chewed on her lip, contemplating on whether or not to ask him about the incident yesterday. Ned was obviously not going to tell her.

And not to mention the whole ordeal with the high tech weapons he had been talking about the night of the fire. What did he mean by high tech weapons? Were they dangerous. They had to be if criminals were using them.

"You're supposed to be counting," Peter grunted, doing another sit-up. Doing sit-ups slowly was actually harder than doing them at his normal pace.

"I would, except you wouldn't trust me to count right," she muttered.

"It's hard to trust people who lie to you," he snapped.

"Says the person lying to the whole city about being a friendly superhero," she hissed. He sat up again with a force, coming too close to her face. She didn't back away and he didn't back down. God, she hated that stupid crooked eyebrow of his. It bothered her more than it should have. He hated the little bits of gray in her blue eyes. So much that he had to force himself to look away.

"I don't let killers run free, unlike you," he snapped.

"So you kill them instead?" she said. He gritted his teeth.

"I don't kill anyone," he said, pressing his lips into a thin line.

"Oh, that's right. It's only right to kill someone for revenge, isn't it?

"That's not what I said," he said, level. Adelaide swallowed and narrowed her eyes, leaning closer without caring about their proximity.

"I hurt you too. Are you going to kill me too, then?"

"Why do you always twist my words!" he said, nearly shouting. A couple people turned to look at them. Adelaide leaned back, still glaring at him.

"Alright, alright, let's break it up," Wilson said, walking past them, "Switch."

Adelaide stepped back and waited for Peter to get off the mat before lying down herself. He held down her feet, looking at her. She sat up, coming to eye level with him.

"You're making a mistake," she said quietly.

Peter didn't answer.

* * *

Ned sat with her at lunch.

Which meant Peter followed him there too. He sat down across from her, glaring at her. She rolled her eyes, turning away from him.

"...joined the Decathlon team," Vivian said.

"Wait, really? I'm on the team too!" Ned said, nearly losing control over his excitement. He caught himself and cleared his throat. "I mean, that's such a coincidence."

"Yeah," Vivian said. She caught her eye across the table and gave her a smile like you would give a friend with an inside secret. Adelaide gave her a tight smile before looking away. She glanced at Peter who was staring at something behind her, holding his head up with his hand.

She casually looked over her shoulder, only to find Liz standing there, talking to Betty and laughing.

Adelaide gritted her teeth and turned back to the table.

"So, Ned, how was the party? Did Spider-Man really show up?" she asked. Ned's dreamy smile disappeared and he glanced at Peter from the corner of his eye. Peter studied her curiously. Did she know that Ned knew? Did Ned know that she knew?

"No, it was just Ned in a red shirt," Michelle said, her eyes still trained on her book, "Had great toast though."

"Y-Yeah, what she said," Ned stuttered. Adelaide turned to Peter.

"What, was Spider-Man too busy to come? I mean, he probably has so many criminals to kill every night," she said. Peter gritted his teeth. She was going out of her way to be snarky and it was starting to get annoying.

"He didn't say," Peter said, aware that Michelle and the other girl were watching.

"Hm. Sounds irresponsible to me," she said, leaning back. Peter bit his tongue.

"Wait, do you know Spider-Man?" Vivian asked Peter. Peter had no idea who this new girl was. He glanced at Ned who merely shrugged, giving him a sheepish smile.

"Um, yeah, I guess," he said, "Through the Stark Internship."

"Stark?" Vivian asked with a frown. Peter looked up.

"Yeah, Tony Stark," he said. Vivian looked confused.

"Who's that?"

Even Michelle looked up from her book. It was one of those instances where everything was suddenly silent and in slow motion. And everyone was slightly gaping. At their table at least.

"You don't know who Tony Stark is?" Adelaide finally said, breaking the silence.

"Um, should I?" Vivian asked, biting her lip and looking around the table at everyone's faces. How could someone not know who Tony freaking Stark was? Even Adelaide knew him and she had had her memories wiped.

"You actually live under a rock," she said, blinking unbelievingly.

"Well, my dad never really let me watch tv," she shrugged. Adelaide rolled her eyes. Of course. That cranky old Scrooge.

"Yeah," Adelaide mumbled, "It shows." There was a beat of silence. Michelle turned a page.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who..." Peter started, looking at the dark-haired girl.

"Oh! I'm Vivian," she smiled, "I'm new here. Adelaide's actually my neighbor."

Adelaide let out a long sigh.

* * *

 **A/N: Sooo brice got what he deserved. I wanted to include flint more in that scene, but I couldn't fit him in there so next time I suppose.**

 **But let's talk about that sExUaL tEnSiOn like jEeZ Parker just kiss her already c'mon you know you want to. Unfortunately, they won't be kissing anytime soon. However, once they do, they won't be able to stop ;) I'm sooo excited to write them as a couple lol, I already have like a million scenes of them literally just making out sksksk**

 _ **Question: What was the saddest scene in this story so far?**_


	82. Chapter 78

**A/N: You guys I'm so tired imma deadass cry.**

 **I have a physics exam tomorrow and I can't like my head is literally boutta explode from all this studying no cap. I just gotta make it two more months till graduation *cries in college***

 **ANYway, life update over, about this chapter. It's a lil on the short side. I wrote most of it yesterday. Haven't really had time to proofread it so please point out my mistakes so I can fix them. Other than that, there's a tiny cliffhanger and hopefully I can get the next chapter out on time.**

 **Okay, okay, here's the chapter**

* * *

 _"You're the man who killed the Avengers._

 _And it cost you everything."_

* * *

 _Tony was back in the penthouse._

 _It was well past human hours to be awake. But he couldn't sleep so he was sitting on the sofa as usual, holding a bottle of beer in one hand and the tv remote in the other. There was a discarded pizza box, half under the sofa and another bottle of beer rolling on the hardwood floor._

 _"Again, Tony?" someone said, switching the tv off. He hadn't been watching it anyway. She took the bottle out of his hands, putting it on the table beside him. He sighed tiredly, rubbing his face._

 _She sat down across from him._

 _"You need to get over her," she said, her blue eyes sparkling in the dark, "She wasn't good for you."_

 _Tony sat up. He ran his hand through his hair. He didn't understand why Adie was saying that. She loved Pepper as much as he did._

 _"I just...wish I could have done something different," he sighed, rubbing his eyes, "I wish I hadn't hurt her as much as I had." He let his feet hit the ground, resting his forearms on his thighs. Something ached in his stomach._

 _"You'll always hurt people, Tony," she said gently, "It's part of who you are."_

 _He sighed. She stood up, coming up to stand beside him. She rested her hand on his head and he looked up at her with his bloodshot eyes. She smiled softly. Her eyes glowed._

 _"Maybe you and I are more alike than you think," she whispered. He looked away._

 _"How so?" he mumbled. She down on the sofa beside him._

 _"We always do more harm than good," she said quietly, "I don't have the energy to worry about other people anymore. People like us only look out for ourselves, you know?"_

 _"Not true," he said, "You take care of me. More than I'd like to admit."_

 _Adie smiled. "Do I?"_

 _He frowned, "What do you mean?"_

 _"You think I like being around here to take care of someone who's broken beyond repair? You're a dead end, Tony. A...sickness you can't cure. I'm only here because I needed something from you."_

 _He looked at her curiously, "What?"_

 _Adie grinned._

 _"You're gullible. It makes you vulnerable. Can't you see that I've only used you from the first moment I walked through the door? You were the key to destroying the Avengers. The weak link. And it worked like a charm."_

 _"What are you..." he said, not believing it._

 _"You really think the amnesia drama was the truth?_ Everything _was a lie," she grinned._

 _"I...don't..." he breathed, pulling away from her a bit, "You...knew? Everything?"_

 _"Of course I knew. From the moment I walked through the door," she grinned and something evil glinted in her glowing blue eyes. He suddenly saw her in a different light. Was she telling the truth? Had she pretended to forget this entire time? How long had she known the truth?_

 _Was...Was everything a lie?_

 _Even the moments that had felt so raw and real. The ones he cherished and loved. Was it all just fake? Had anything she said been real?_

 _"You're the man who killed the Avengers," she said, "And it cost you everything."_

 _He stumbled away from her, his hand knocking over the beer bottle on the table. It shattered on the floor. Adie stood up, grinning broadly._

 _"You shouldn't have trusted me," she said._

 _"Stop," he said. He was breathing heavily. The room was spinning. So fast. He couldn't keep up._

 _"I killed your parents, Tony," she said, stepping forward, "And I remember everything."_

 _He took a step back, "Stop."_

 _Nothing made sense anymore. How could his Adie be a liar? After everything?_

 _"I remember the way her throat felt under my hand..." she hissed, taking another step forward. He took a step back, gritting his teeth in agony. His face felt hot._

 _"...the cold metal wrapped around my finger as bashed the gun on his head," she kept going._

 _"Stop," he said, almost begging._

 _"I remember her cries, the panic on her face."_

 _"Stop!" he shouted, covering his ears. He was convulsing._

 _"The sticky blood under my fingers."_

 _"STOP!" he raged, shoving the table over and Adelaide grinned._

 _"You shouldn't have trusted me, Stark," she said, "I'm going to hurt everyone you love. And then I'm going to come for you."_

 _Before Tony knew what was happening, the arm from his suit had wrapped itself around him. He shot a beam at her and she fell back onto the floor._

 _The penthouse was absolutely silent for a moment._

 _He lowered the arm, heaving. There lied the teenager, motionless on the floor. He realized what he had done._

 _He fell to the ground, repulsed by himself._

* * *

The subway was _so_ much cheaper than a taxi.

They even had a discount for students so Adelaide had decided to take the subway to school from now on. But, apparently, so had Vivian.

She had insisted that they both ride to school together. Adelaide wanted to refuse, but she figured the best way to return the favor for the burn cream would be this. It was one of the more tolerable options. She definitely didn't want to ride the subway to school everyday with Vivian. Definitely not. But she didn't really have choice.

So that's how she'd ended up impatiently waiting for her outside in the hall.

Finally, the door opened. But it wasn't Vivian. It was Mr. Scrooge, as Adelaide had decided to call Vivian's father. He fit the type. He glared at her and grunted in annoyance before marching away. She could somehow see his disapproval for her in his walk.

Adelaide sighed and leaned back against her door frame as she waited impatiently for Vivian to come outside. She was going to make them late. Besides, what was she doing that was taking so long?

Finally, Vivian stepped outside, holding a paper bag of something in her hands. Whatever was inside, it smelled absolutely amazing.

"Morning!" she smiled and Adelaide internally groaned. She'd have to have at least five shots of vodka to have the same energy as this girl every morning. Maybe that was Vivian's secret to being so chirpy all the time. "I woke up early to make cookies so I brought you some. Dark chocolate chip." She held out the bag for her and Adelaide took it, surprised.

"Oh...uh, thanks," she mumbled, peeking inside. Adelaide's mouth watered. They looked heavenly.

"So are you going to our first decathlon meeting today?" Vivian asked brightly as they began to make their way down the hall.

"Yeah," she muttered. She didn't really want to, but she wasn't left with much of a choice. She figured she could just leave early to avoid riding on the subway with Vivian on the way home too. The less time Adelaide spent with her, the better it was for her sanity.

Mr. Scrooge appeared in the hallway again, still a prominent scowl on his face. Vivian smiled at him.

"早点回家，不要和这个女孩在一起。她对你不好，明白吗?" he muttered. _(Come home early and don't spend too much time with this girl. She's not good for you, understand?)_

Vivian's smiled faltered and then she nodded slowly. Adelaide watched Mr. Scrooge as he walked away. She wondered what he could have said to Vivian to make her lose her smile. She really didn't like this man.

"What did he say?" Adelaide asked as they began walking down the hall. Vivian shook her head as if she snapped out of something.

"Nothing," she said and put the bright smile on her face again. There was still something that didn't make sense to Adelaide.

"How are you like _this_ when he's like that?" Adelaide asked and Vivian's smile widened knowingly. Adelaide pressed the button on the elevator and then stepped back as she waited.

"My dad always says I'm just like my mom," she said quietly and Adelaide suddenly remembered the dark-haired woman in the photo frame by her bed.

"Does your mom live in Queens, too?" Adelaide asked just as the elevator doors opened. They both walked inside and Vivian pressed the lobby button.

"My mom...she died when I was 13," Vivian said quietly. The elevator was filled with an awkward silence. Maybe she shouldn't have asked a personal question right before they got into an elevator. Adelaide sighed to herself.

 _Great going, Adelaide._

"I'm sorry," Adelaide said awkwardly. Vivian shifted her weight on her feet.

"Thank you."

After what seemed like forever, the elevator doors opened. Just when Adelaide thought she had escaped the awkwardness, she heard another voice she didn't want to hear. Don.

"Morning, ladies!" he greeted them. Adelaide groaned and began walking faster. Vivian, of course, stayed behind to chit chat.

"Good morning! How are you doing?" Vivian asked. Don beamed. All he had been looking for was someone to pay a little attention to him. Adelaide definitely wasn't going to be that person.

"I'm dandy. How about yourself?" he asked with a smile brighter than Vivian's. He was wearing a fedora and a plaid suit. Who wore that nowadays? Adelaide was waiting at the door, one foot impatiently tapping on the pavement outside.

"I'm good! Would you like some cookies? I baked them fresh this morning!" she said.

"We're going to be late," Adelaide interrupted and Vivian looked at the overhead clock, realizing the same thing. She quickly snatched the paper bag of cookies away from Don's outstretched hand just before he could take one and hurried towards Adelaide. Finally.

"Sorry!" Vivian told Don over her shoulder, "Running late!"

"It's..."

Both girls quickly left the lobby, leaving Don there alone and still cookieless.

"...no problem at all, Miss," he sighed, sinking back into his seat.

Man, those cookies had smelled delicious.

* * *

"Hey, I've been looking all over for you," Ned said, approaching Peter. Peter had found himself in the empty shop class before class, hitting the casing of the weapon he had found two nights ago with a hammer. "Where were you this morning?"

"Something came up," Peter said, hitting he weapon casing again to break it free. He had to do this quickly before the teacher or anyone else walked in here and saw it. Ned saw what he was hitting and his eyes widened.

"Oh, what is that?" he said. Peter tried to pull the remaining bits of casing off with his fingers but not without much effort.

"I don't know. Some guy tried to vaporize me with it," Peter grunted, tugging at it.

"Seriously?" Ned said, his voice rising a pitch.

"Yeah," Peter said.

"Awesome," Ned breathed and Peter looked at Ned for his absurd reaction.

"I mean, not awesome," Ned backtracked, "Totally uncool of that guy. So scary." Peter gave him another look before going back to the casing at hand.

"Well, look, I think it's a power source," Peter said.

"Yeah, but it's connected to all these microprocessors," Ned pointed out, pointing to a complex-looking charging mechanism connected to various wires, "That's an inductive charging plate. That's what I use to charge my toothbrush."

"Whoever's making these weapons is obviously combining alien tech with ours," Peter muttered, deep in thought as he saw what Ned meant. This was not good.

"That is literally the coolest sentence anyone has ever said," Ned breathed, "I just want to thank you for letting me be part of your journey into this amazing—"

Peter wasn't really listening to him as he continued to examine the core. He picked up the hammer again and hit the core really hard. Almost immediately, the core popped out of its casing. They both shared a wide-eyed look. Surely someone must have heard that.

Just then, the door opened.

The shop teacher, Mr. Hapgood popped his head inside. Peter and Ned stood there for a minute in the dark, frozen.

"Damn birds, making noises," he muttered before closing the door again and leaving the classroom. Peter and Ned both gave each other a confused look. How had Mr. Hapgood not seen them?

They shrugged it off, considering the teacher's personality. They could have exploded a grenade in front of him and he wouldn't have noticed. They both turned back and look at the core which popped out.

"I gotta figure out what this thing is and who makes it," Peter muttered.

"We'll go to the lab after class and run some tests," Ned whispered as if Mr. Hapgood could still hear them.

"Let's do it," Peter agreed. Ned grinned and they both did their little handshake, ignorant of a third person standing in the room with them.

Adelaide had heard enough.

* * *

 **A/N: Story time!**

 **So yesterday I had to go to the dentist but I drove myself to the doctors on accident and then parked my car, got out of my car, realized I was in the wrong place, got back into the car and then drove to the other side of the town to the doctors and then proceeded to be half an hour late to my physics lecture.**

 **Long story short I need sleep**

 **Also that I shouldn't be driving cause I'm only half awake at any given moment of the day**

 _ **Question: Okie wild card day cause I can't think of anything. You guys can ask me anything, I'm an open book (unlike my physics exam)**_


	83. Chapter 79

**A/N: i had my first mental breakdown of the semester this week. it came earlier than i expected but im not that surprised.**

 **anyway, so update on my physics exam: i failed it. like got an f failed it sooo. yeah. in other news, peter and adie are still mad at each other and there's still a shitton of sexual tension so yay!**

 **things should get more interesting now cause adie knows a lil something about the weapons sooo**

 **also i almost had a panic attack when wattpad erased my story today because i write** _ **everything**_ **on here and i don't back it up anywhere else and i have so many scenes that i haven't published written on here but its all good now**

* * *

 _"The next day you told_

 _me you liked tight shirts."_

* * *

"First, I say we put the glowy thing in the mass spectrometer," Ned said as they were walking down the hallway. Peter cringed.

"First, we gotta come up with a better name than 'glowy thingy'," Peter said.

"You're right," Ned said, racking his brain for a better name.

Suddenly, the two guys from that night walked into the hallway. Peter froze.

"Crap," he said and then threw himself behind the wall.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on," he whispered to Ned. Ned stood there for a moment, looking around in confusion and then slowly shuffled across the corridor to join Peter behind the wall, against the window.

Peter carefully glanced around the wall.

"High schools creep me out," one of the men said.

"They got this funny smell, you know?" his pal replied.

"Hey, that's one of the guys that tried to kill me," Peter said, thinking out loud.

"What?" Ned said, his eyes wide. Why was he just now hearing about this?

"We gotta get out of here," Ned said, beginning to feel slightly worried.

"No, no, no, no, no," Peter whispered, "I gotta follow them. Maybe they can lead me to the guy that dropped me in the lake."

"Someone dropped you in a lake?" Ned said, raising his eyebrows. Once again, why was he just now hearing about this?

"Yeah, it was not good," Peter whispered, shuddering at the memory. The two men walked into a classroom, holding some kind of electronic device in their hands. Peter creeped out from behind the wall, walking closer to the men.

"Peter–" Ned started.

"No. Stay there, Ned," Peter whispered and then ducked behind another wall, disappearing from sight.

"Peter," Ned whispered and then waited, holding his breath. Oh well. Ned hoped he wouldn't die.

Someone tapped on the window behind him and Ned jumped up, startled. He turned around. Tiny was smiling at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Ned glanced over his shoulder and cleared his throat.

"Nothing," he said.

"Oh," Tiny said.

"Yeah. You good?" Ned said. Tiny pointed to the table behind him.

"Chess," he said.

Meanwhile, Peter had followed the two men downstairs into a classroom. He stayed crouched down, silently sneaking inside. They were both rummaging through the room, almost as if they were looking for something.

"Can you imagine what the boss would say if he knew where we were?" the short guy said.

"It's saying there was an energy pulse right here," the other dude said. Peter crouched down behind a table by the stairs, holding his breath as he watched them.

"There's no sign of the weapon. And even if it was here, now it's gone," he sighed.

"So are we," the tall guy said. As if sensing something, the guy looked over in Peter's direction. He glanced at his partner and then reached for his gun, stalking towards the table stealthily. He crossed the room, coming to stand by the worktable, scanning the area. Nothing.

However, as the men went up the stairs, Peter silently shot out a tiny robotic spider at one of the dude's shoes and it climbed up his pant leg.

* * *

At the Decathlon meeting, things were regulated chaos as usual.

Mr. Harrington was practically running around the theater, trying to get everything into place before they headed off to DC tomorrow. Liz was there right along with him, being the good little president that she was, helping everyone get prepared for the trip. They had assigned pencil sharpening to Adelaide (it was less pathetic than what Abe had to do: take attendance). Without Adelaide, they wouldn't have any pencils at the competition.

She had clearly been given the most important job.

Michelle was sitting beside her, _The_ _Great Gatsby_ in her hands. Except it was written in French. Meanwhile, Flash was preparing for tomorrow by taking his regular nap. He said the bags under his eyes became too dark if he didn't get more than ten hours of sleep every day. Adelaide wondered what he'd look like if he got the same nightmares as her.

Vivian was off in a corner, preparing lanyards for the team and making folders for everyone with maps and other information. She was clearly enjoying herself. But she was always enjoying herself so it was hard to tell.

Adelaide looked down at the stack of pencils on the table. There had to be at least three dozen. Which meant only sixty-four more to go.

All day long, she couldn't help but let her mind wander to what she had overheard between Peter's and Ned's conversation this morning. Alien tech? Is that what the robbers had used that night at Delmar's? And who exactly was using it?

She had so many questions.

"We need more binders," Liz frowned, appearing in front of the room. Vivian jumped up.

"I'll get it!" Vivian said, smiling brightly. Adelaide looked back at the pencils in her hand.

"No, I'll get it," Adelaide sighed, standing up. She needed a serious break from sharpening pencils. Liz beamed.

"Thanks! They're in the closet across from Mr. Harrington's room," she said. Mr. Harrington's room? That was on the other side of the school. Well, at least it meant more time to spend away from them.

"How many do you need?" she asked. Liz did a quick calculation in her head.

"Six," she said.

Adelaide nodded and left.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Peter asked Ned.

He had waited for a minute after the guys had left to sneak back out of the classroom. Once he had come back into the hall, he had found Ned still waiting there, pretending to read a bulletin board. He quickly filled him in on what happened.

"Decathlon meeting," Ned said. Peter sighed.

"Okay, go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he said. Ned nodded.

"Be careful," Ned said before turning the corner.

Peter nodded and then picked his backpack up off the floor and began making his way down the hall to go home. He was going to have to hail a cab since all the buses had probably already left.

He couldn't wait to get home. Now that he had placed a tracker on that guy, he was going to be able to see wherever he was going. And then he could easily track those weapons. If things went well, maybe even Mr. Stark would realize that Peter had been right from the beginning and they could take down the bad guy together.

Suddenly, Peter heard a noise.

"Man, I must have dropped it somewhere out here," he heard the guy from earlier say. Peter's eyes widened.

"Hurry up and find it. I hate this place," the other guy muttered. Peter flattened himself against the wall and then carefully peered around the corner. They were both there, scanning the floor for something. What were they doing back here? They couldn't be here!

As if sensing something again, one of the guys looked up.

Peter quickly ducked back, pressing himself as flat against the wall as he could. He internally cursed at himself for slipping up. He held his breath, listening.

"Who's there?" he said. His voice sounded closer. Peter frantically looked around for an escape. There was nothing in this hallway. Not even an air vent he could web himself up to.

"I saw someone," the guy said to his friend, "Over here."

He was almost at the corner now. Peter could sense him. He was closing in. And he would catch him if he didn't do something fast. So Peter did the next best thing.

He ran.

He zipped down the hall and turned the corner, coming up to a closet whose door was slightly ajar.

"Hey! I saw something!" the guy shouted.

Without thinking twice, Peter stumbled inside.

* * *

"Don't—!" Adelaide said, reaching for the door. But it was too late. Peter had already slammed the door shut.

There was a silent pause.

Peter slowly turned to look at her and she could just barely make out the outline of his face from the light coming in from under the door. Adelaide glared at him hard. He didn't even have the time to think about what the hell she was doing in the closet.

"Don't tell me it's locked," he said.

Adelaide groaned, shaking the door handle vigorously.

"Why didn't you say something before!" he whispered, pushing her aside to shake the handle himself. Adelaide angrily rubbed her face, letting her fingers pull at her hair in frustration. He wanted to beat the door so someone could hear them and let them out, but making any sort of noise would only alert the guys outside.

"You never let—!"

Peter immediately covered her mouth with his hand, trying to get her to stay quiet. She stumbled backward, her back hitting the wall. He pressed his hand against her mouth, holding her shoulder with his other hand and glancing over his shoulder worriedly. Her eyes widened angrily and she pulled at his hand.

"Ggt yr nd ff my outh," she grumbled, glaring at him.

"Shh!" he whispered, holding a finger up to his lips. Her eyes widened again. First, he locked her in a closet and now he was covering her mouth? Was this some kind of joke?

For a moment, the closet was silent except for the sounds of their breaths.

Peter put his ear to the door, listening for the men. He hoped they didn't come to check this closet.

"You take the left, I'll go out right," one of the men said.

"I still haven't found my wallet!"

"Quit acting like you had anything more than a a couple dollars in there," the guy muttered. Peter held his breath. Adelaide's eyes darted around his face. She hadn't been this close to him in so long. She'd forgotten how much beautiful his brown eyes were.

Finally, their footsteps faded away down the hall. Peter waiting for a heartbeat before relaxing his shoulders. He was safe. For now.

"Mbfhbl!" Adelaide said and his eyes widened.

"Oh. Right, sorry," he said, dropping his hand from her mouth. She glared at him.

"What — the — hell — was _that_?" she hissed.

"Nothing," he sighed, rubbing his face. It was slowly starting to sink in just how grave this whole situation was.

"Uh-uh," Adelaide said, shaking her head, "You don't get to 'nothing' me. What the hell is going on?"

Peter glared at her.

"Do you have to be so nosy all the damn time?" he grumbled, running his hands through his hair tiredly. Adelaide raised her eyebrows. A lock of his hair fell into his forehead, tickling his eyes. She gritted her teeth.

"You lock me in a closet and then have the audacity to call me names?" she said. Peter sighed, looking away. He could not spend another minute in here. Even if it were those criminals who had to come get him out, he'd deal with it.

He began hitting the door, trying to get someone to come open it.

"Ned!" he shouted, "Ned!"

"They can't hear you," Adelaide mumbled, defeatedly slouching against the wall, "No one ever comes in this hallway after school."

Except for him, apparently.

"Just great," he sighed, slamming his fist on the door one last time. It left a crack in the wood.

"Do you have your—"

"It's dead," he sighed, falling back against the wall opposite to hers. Adelaide rolled her eyes. So useless. Not that she had her phone, but it wasn't her fault they were stuck in here to begin with.

And it was in that moment that Adelaide realized that they were really, actually stuck in a closet together with no hopes of escaping. Why couldn't she have just let Vivian go instead? Or even Liz. Then maybe Peter could have had his 7 Minutes in Heaven. She rolled her eyes at the thought. He'd love that, wouldn't he.

"How long do you think before someone realizes we're missing?" Peter said. Adelaide crossed her arms across her chest, giving him a look.

"I don't know," she mumbled. Peter sighed. Just great. He was indefinitely stuck in a closet with the last person he wanted to be with. Just great. Fantastic.

For a moment, they both fell silent, thinking the situation over in their minds. Adelaide ran through a million ways to get out of this stupid closet, but not one of them seemed plausible. They were actually stuck.

"This is your fault, you know," she said pointedly. Peter glared at her.

"That doesn't do anything to help us get out of here," he said. She looked away.

"Just thought you should be feeling guilty," she said. Peter sighed.

"Believe me, I am," he said, "I can't believe I was dumb enough to lock myself in a room with you."

"It's not like I want to be here either," she snapped back.

"You know what your problem is? You just can't ever accept the fact that you're wrong," he said and Adelaide sensed that this wasn't about the closet anymore, "You always have to be right."

"What about you, Spider-Man? You walk around all high and mighty like you're doing the city some sort of favor by hunting for a criminal every night."

"I am doing the city a favor. And I don't do it for myself," he said, gritting his teeth.

"I didn't know you were capable of thinking about anyone else but yourself," she snapped, leaning forward. Peter pushed himself off the wall angrily.

"I know it's hard for someone as narrow minded as you to see the good in someone, but I do. And I care about the city which is why I'm out every night risking my ass to help other people." They were standing only a few inches apart. In the dark, it was easier to say anything that came to mind because they couldn't see each other's reactions.

"And you think that makes you better than them?" Adelaide breathed, "If you're out every night just to kill a man to get revenge, then you're no different than the criminals, Peter."

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said angrily, "Being a hero isn't easy. Not like you would understand anyway."

"I can't believe you call yourself a hero," Adelaide scoffed in his face, "You're just the opposite and Ben would be ashamed of you."

Peter took a step back. Adelaide realized she might have crossed a line. But, regardless, she knew she was right. Ben would never advocate violence or murder even if it was for revenge.

"He would never agree with what you're doing and you know that," she said, more quietly this time. Peter gritted his teeth.

"Don't act like you know my Uncle better than me just because you knew him for a few months," he said, "I don't need someone like you telling me how to take care of my family."

And he was right.

What did Adelaide know about family?

She was living on her own in an apartment she couldn't afford, having hurt and lost everyone she ever had a chance of calling a family to begin with. Peter was right. He didn't need someone like her telling him about family when she didn't have one to begin with.

She stayed quiet, backing down.

Peter looked slightly surprised that she hadn't made a remark for that, but didn't press on it any further. If they were going to be stuck in here for a few hours, it was going to be exhausting if they spent that entire time arguing. He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

He stole a look at Adelaide, realizing that he no idea what was going on her life anymore. She could be sick or dying or something and he had no idea.

Peter looked away.

Something about her bright blue eyes was bothering him.

* * *

"Hey, Ned," Vivian said with a smile.

"H-Hey, Viv-ian," he stuttered, doing an awkward little wave. He looked down at what she was doing. "D-Do you need help with th-that?"

"If you don't mind," she said, "I've been trying to cut these name tags for the lanyards as fast as I can, but I don't think I'm doing it fast enough."

"I-I'll help," he said, pulling out a chair across from her. She handed him a pair of scissors and the name tags. They both quietly cut the name tags for a while before Vivian spoke up.

"So have you done this before?" she asked.

"I mean, I have been using scissors since kindergarten..." Ned said, slightly confused. Vivian laughed and it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. He wanted to make that his alarm so he could wake up to it every day. Was that weird? It wasn't, was it?

"I meant the decathlon," she said.

"Oh. That would make more sense," he said, "Yeah, I have. It's a lot of fun."

"I can't wait. I've never been to DC before," she smiled, "And I love to travel."

"Yeah, I love you too," Ned muttered and Vivian looked up, slightly surprised, "I mean! I-I love traveling too."

"Oh. Cool!" she said, "I'm going to go give these to Liz really quickly. I'll be right back."

"Okay," Ned said. He waited until she was gone to slap himself for almost giving himself away.

* * *

"How much time has it been?" Peter groaned.

Adelaide shrugged. She hadn't said a word since their fight had ended. Not that Peter cared. The less she spoke, the better.

"How did it happen?" Adelaide said, a question that she had been running over in her mind for a few months now.

"How did what happen?" Peter said tiredly. They both were sitting on the floor of the closet. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, resting his forehead on them. Peter estimated it had been about half an hour now and he was starting to get antsy from being locked up. He needed to follow those guys. If they got away with those weapons...

Adelaide was sitting across from him, with her back against the corner and her legs stretched out towards the door. The closet was so small that she couldn't even fully stretch her legs out.

"The Spider-Man thing," she mumbled tiredly.

"Field trip," he said. Adelaide looked up at him. She was playing with a rubber band she had found on the ground, snapping it against her wrist.

"Radioactive spiders?" she asked. Peter nodded.

"Yup. One bit me and then..." he sighed. It felt like so long ago. He couldn't even remember how it felt to not be Spider-Man anymore. The only thing he could recall were those stupid glasses he wore all the time. Sometimes, he wondered where he'd be if that spider hadn't bitten him.

"The next day you told me you liked tight shirts," Adelaide said, only slightly smiling. Peter gave a weak chuckle that was more like just breathing out loudly through his nose.

"Yeah," he said.

"Who else knows?" she asked, rubbing the red spot on her wrist where the rubber band had snapped against too many times. She knew the answer, but she just wanted to see if he would tell her or if he would lie.

"No one," he said.

"No one?" Adelaide asked. He shook his head.

Adelaide sighed.

So things hadn't changed.

* * *

"Hey, do you guys know where Adelaide is?" Ned said, looking around the room. She had said she was going to come to the decathlon meeting, but he hadn't seen her around.

"I asked her to get extra binders, but she should have been back by now," Liz frowned, glancing at her watch.

"Did she say where she was going?" Ned asked, beginning to feel slightly worried. What if those guys had got her?

"The storage closet. Across from Mr. Harrington's room," Liz said.

"I'm going to go see if she needs help," Ned said to Vivian and she nodded. Ned left the theater, making his way down the hall to the other side of the school.

The school looked much more different with the lights off in the hallways. It almost looked kind of creepy. He began whistling the tune to _Cotten Eyed Joe_ as he walked down the hall, deeper into the dark school. Soon enough, he came to Mr. Harrington's room and then turned the corner to where the storage closet was.

"Adelaide?" he said, unsurely knocking on the closet door.

There was a pause.

"Ned?" she said, her voice muffled by the door, "Is that you?"

"Yeah," he said, relieved, "You didn't come back so I came to see if you were okay. What's wrong?"

"The door's locked from the inside," came her reply.

"Oh," Ned said, looking down at the door handle. He twisted it, pulling the door open. Ned was surprised to see that Adelaide wasn't there alone. Almost immediately, both of his best friends threw their arms around him, nearly tackling him over.

"Thank God you came, Ned," Peter breathed.

"Peter?" he said, furrowing his eyebrows once they both had pulled away, "I thought you went home."

Peter sighed, "Long story."

Adelaide rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache making a debut behind her eyes. She had been cramped in that stupid closet for too long.

"Wait — how long have you guys actually been in there?" Ned asked. Adelaide glared at Peter.

"Too long," she answered and Peter glared back at her, gritting his teeth.

"If you hadn't started a fight, it might have been more tolerable," he snapped.

"If you didn't slam the door, then we wouldn't have been stuck in there to begin with!" she shouted back.

"If you had just—"

"Woah, woah, break it up guys," Ned said, looking between the two of them. It made him sad to see his two best friends fighting like this. He didn't know what had happened between them, but they both seemed to hate each other now.

"I'm going home," Peter sighed, picking his backpack up off the floor and slinging it around his shoulder. Adelaide let out a huff, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'll see you later, Ned."

"Yeah..." Ned mumbled, watching his friend walk away with a frown, "See you."

"Come on," Adelaide sighed, turning away, "I'm sick of this decathlon thing."

Ned stood there in the hallway by himself, feeling horrible. He only ever had had two best friends and now they didn't get along either. And somehow he'd gotten tangled up in their relationship to the point where he didn't really feel like he had much of any friends left.

He sighed.

He just really wanted things to go back to the way they were.

* * *

When Adelaide got back to the theater, the meeting was being wrapped up. Liz was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Adelaide realized that she'd forgotten to actually bring the binders, thanks to Peter.

She sighed.

"Good news!" Vivian said brightly, appearing in front of her like a pop-up add you couldn't block, "We got our rooms booked in DC and you and I are roommates!"

Adelaide sighed.

Could this day have been any worse?

* * *

 **A/N: so i had a decathlon of sorts this weekend and WE WON THE REGIONAL COMPETITION AND WE'RE GOING TO STATEEEEE omg we were so happy when they announced our school name our whole team was practically SCREAMING at the top of our lungs. im soooo exictedded**

 **so i just wanna say something.**

 **ive been so much happier lately and i didn't realize how truly unhappy i had been for a long time until i wasn't. like i find myself smiling for no reason sometimes and im doing much better emotionally and idk im kinda scared cause it feels so good and something always happens but it's been a couple months and i think that this happiness is finally here to stay for a long, long time. and i think a big part of it comes from this story so i just wanna thank you guys for being so sweet and supportive. and also, if you're feeling like you're not in a good place right now, just remember to be gentle with yourself and that time will make things better :)**

 _ **Question: Which part of this story made you stay and keep reading?**_


	84. Chapter 80

**A/N:** **so i deadass thought i had the corona for a week straight but turns out it was just my allergies, thank god. there were confirmed cases two hours and three hours away from me but i think im good for now.**

 **life update: i have my first ever play in a little over a week and im so nervous! it's the first time im going to be acting in front of an audience and im super nervous but in a good way. im mostly nervous about my parents coming though. i really wanna show them that i can act so that they'll let me do it in the future cause i genuinely love doing it**?

 **also i just finished this chapter and i haven't proofread a lot of it so please excuse my grammar.**

 **but! it's an extra long chapter and you guys should be glad that i didn't decide to split it in half to use for next week even though i'm going to be crazy busy next week and might not even have time to write a new chapter. :((**

 **i'm just on spring break right now which is the only reason i can write such a long chapter lol but next week is gonna be crazyyy.**

* * *

 _"He didn't know that she knew that he knew."_

* * *

Adelaide hated shopping.

It meant she had to spend money. And without an income, shopping for groceries was like giving away money for her electricity bill or rent. She was worried that if she didn't find a job soon, it was going to come to a point where she was going to have to pick between food and her apartment.

And she didn't want to have to pick.

When she lived at the Tower, groceries just seemed to magically appear in the fridge and cabinets. And they always seemed to have a stock of frozen pizza rolls. Or chocolate. Or anything she ever wanted. She never realized how easy her life had been when she lived at the Tower. She had been taking so much for granted.

Adelaide sighed, pushing her cart along. She was at Trader Joe's, picking up the bare minimum of groceries that she needed to get through this week. She had decided to take things one week at a time, payment wise. She only had a little over a thousand dollars left in the little cabinet in her apartment. Which, she had quickly come to learn, was not a lot of cash in the adult world. Especially when her rent alone was 800 dollars.

She grabbed the cheapest loaf of bread off the shelf, throwing it on top of the eggs. She glanced at the price and cringed. New York was so expensive.

"Adelaide?"

Adelaide froze. She knew that voice.

Slowly, she turned around. There was May, smiling widely. Adelaide swallowed and then painfully forced a smile.

"H-Hey, May," she said.

"Hey yourself!" she said, coming up to give her the biggest hug. Adelaide hesitated for a moment before hugging her back. She almost felt guilty for hugging her. May thought she was a sweet teenager who happened to be her nephew's friend when Adelaide was, in truth, neither of those things. This was exactly why she didn't want to go back to her old life. The sheer amount of guilt was overwhelming.

But May's hug felt so comforting and Adelaide didn't realize how much she had needed a hug until now. She nearly broke down into the tears right there in her arms. Somehow, she managed to hold it in.

"How are you!" May said, pulling away and touching her hair, "I haven't seen you in months. And your hair! It looks amazing!"

"Thank you...I've been a little, um, busy," she said, pulling at her sleeves awkwardly.

"Too busy to even come over? It feels so strange not having you around as much anymore. I miss you," May said, resting her hand on the teenager's shoulder.

Adelaide felt too guilty to even talk. What would May say if she knew that Adelaide was an assassin? That she had killed children?

"I-I'll try to come more," she lied, adding more weight to the guilt that was already there.

"Don't be like a stranger," May smiled, "You're like family, you know."

Adelaide had survived endless nightmares.

She had suffered through trauma.

Hell, she had even lived through watching her parents get murdered.

But nothing – _nothing_ – had been as hard as trying not to cry in that one, singular moment.

"Thank you," was all she could manage to say. May smiled.

"So how's school going? Sophomore year, huh?" May said, pushing her cart along. They were now shopping together, apparently. Adelaide swallowed down the knot in her throat successfully.

"Well, we're leaving for the decathlon tomorrow morning," she said.

"Tomorrow? Huh. Peter hasn't said anything about it," May said, taking a bag of gummy worms.

"He's not going," Adelaide told her.

"He's not?" May asked, facing her. She looked confused for a moment and then she sighed tiredly. "I don't know what's going on with him. Ever since he got that Stark Internship, he's been so busy. I'm telling you, I don't like that Tony Stark. He's been keeping Peter so occupied, it's like I hardly ever see him anymore."

"Yeah..." Adelaide muttered. If only May knew. She would never even let Peter out of the house.

"Well, good luck with your Decathlon tomorrow," May said brightly, turning to her. They had arrived at the checkout counters and Adelaide had already finished her shopping. "I'm sure you're going to do amazing. And listen. Don't hesitate to come over whenever you want, okay? You don't even have to come over for Peter. It can be just the two of us, like a girls night, yeah?"

May wasn't dumb.

She knew something had happened between the two teenagers. They were teenagers. They fought all the time. She was sure they would make up eventually. Especially if it was Adelaide and Peter.

Besides, it was probably because of something Peter had done. She was sure of it. He and Ben. They were both one and the same.

Always messing up with their girls.

Adelaide smiled, "Yeah."

* * *

They were sitting in Peter's room.

Ned had gotten ahold of the web shooter and was projecting a hologram model of the city into the air. Peter hopped onto the bed, next to Ned.

"This is so awesome," Ned breathed in awe.

"I know, right?" Peter said, studying the hologram. They had monitoring it closely for about an hour now, looking for signs of movement from the arms dealers.

Ned poked the hologram and it became more define

"They're in Brooklyn," Peter said.

* * *

 _LATER_

"Staten Island," Ned said.

Peter lowered himself from the ceiling, studying the hologram upside down. He made a crunching noise and Ned looked up. He was eating chips. Upside down. Ned's lips parted.

"Oh, sorry, do you want one?" Peter said, offering him the bag. Ned shook his head slowly before turning back to the model.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Ned said. Peter casually munched on another chip.

"Sure," he said, watching the dot on the model moving through Staten Island.

"What do you think about Vivian?" he asked. Peter frowned.

"You mean...the new girl?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," Ned said.

"I mean, I don't really know her..." Peter shrugged, "She seems nice."

"I think I'm in love with her," Ned said.

Peter fell from the ceiling, hitting the ground with an _oomph_. He immediately sat up, looking at his best friend with wide eyes.

"You _what_?" Peter said, "You don't even know her! She could be part of the mafia, for all you know!"

Ned sighed. He had had this exact conversation with Adelaide. Eerily exact.

"She's not part of the mafia, Peter. She's really nice and we like a lot of the same things."

"But love?" Peter said, wincing, "Isn't that too...official?"

"That's just it. I want to make things official, but I don't know how to ask her out," he frowned, falling back onto the bed with a sigh. Peter didn't say anything. He didn't exactly have the merits to contribute to that.

"She's Adelaide's neighbor," Ned said after a while.

"More of a reason to not trust her, then," Peter mumbled. Ned sighed.

"What is up with the two of you?" he asked tiredly. This entire drama was starting to get old to Ned. He wanted his friends back the way they were.

"Nothing," Peter said immediately, "They're still in Staten Island."

Ned sighed, "Yeah."

"If you...like Vivian then ask her out. But just don't do it too soon," Peter said, "Girls can be very confusing, but just give it some time."

"Okay," Ned said, deciding to do just that.

* * *

 _"Good evening, Adelaide,"_ TADASHI said.

Adelaide took a deep breath, looking in the mirror. She had — with much effort — convinced herself to put on her suit. It looked incredible — just like anything Tony ever made. She ran her fingers over the material, holding her breath.

The suit smelled like the penthouse and it stirred up old memories buried deep in the back of her mind.

 _"Here, put this on," Tony said, tossing her a thin metal cuff._

 _Adelaide looked at it curiously before sliding it over her right wrist. There were five small lights on the top that lit up one by one and then they all flashed together._

 _"Hold your arm up like...this," the billionaire instructed, pulling her wrist up. Adelaide watched him unsurely. What in the world was he doing? A moment later, her question was answered when the hoverboard flew up, attaching itself to the cuff on her wrist._

 _"Magnets," he explained with a smirk, "I have those on my suit, too. The Deathboard – amazing name, by the way – will come to you from anywhere. You just gotta raise your wrist."_

 _"Awesome!" she laughed, taking the hoverboard into her hands._

 _The board was barely 2 inches thick now and it also looked much sturdier. Per her request, Tony had done some aesthetic touch-ups on the board as well and now it had thin red stripes running along the length of the board that lit up white whenever the hoverboard was activated or in use._

 _"I love it!" she shouted, throwing her arms around the billionaire. Tony was caught off guard for a moment but a moment later he hugged the teenager back with a ridiculously large smile on his face._

Adelaide smiled to herself at the memory.

It was a sweet memory.

 _"It's been a while,"_ TADASHI said, as if reading her mind. Tony had integrated the AI into her suit as well as the hover board. Which, at the moment was resting on her mattress.

Adelaide thought she looked incredible in her full suit with the platinum blonde hair and sharp, glowing blue eyes. The setting sun from the window was filtering into her apartment, making the room glow golden. She looked into the mirror again. She looked menacing and fearless. Despite the fact that she didn't feel menacing and fearless.

"Yes," she whispered back to the AI, "it has." She brought a wisp of white light between her fingers and it danced around her hand like a flickering flame.

 _"Would you like me to engage in stealth mode?"_ he asked.

As much as she wanted to go on a mission and use her powers, she knew deep down that she just wasn't ready for that yet. After getting her memories back, she didn't feel safe using her powers around other people, especially for fighting. Her memories had made it clear that she couldn't be trusted.

A murderer was a murderer, no matter the excuse.

Adelaide sighed, dropping her hand and the light flickered away. The golden sunlight filling the room seemed to dim.

"No," she sighed.

 _"As you wish,"_ TADASHI said.

* * *

It was nighttime.

Ned had ended up on the floor while Peter had found his way to his desk and he was hunched over, doing his homework with his back to the hologram.

"Leaving Jersey," Ned said tiredly.

* * *

 _LATER_

Ned was lying on the bed, bored out of his mind when the hologram began to beep.

Startled, he sat up.

"They stopped," Ned said.

Peter lowered himself from the ceiling again and turned around, eyeing the model.

"Maryland?" he said. He and Ned both looked at each other.

"What's there?" Ned asked. Peter shrugged.

"I don't know. Evil lair?" he said.

"They have a lair?" Ned asked, his mouth slightly agape.

"Dude. A gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings? Yeah, they have a lair," Peter said. Ned nodded slowly.

"Badass," he said, "But how are you gonna get there if it's, like, 300 miles away?"

They both paused.

And then they simultaneously turned to the decathlon poster on the wall.

"It's not too far from D.C.," Peter said quietly.

* * *

"Don't forget who your buddy is!" Mr. Harrington said as they all loaded the bus.

Adelaide was carrying a box of binders and pencils, waiting for Flash to stop taking selfies with the school bus so she could actually climb inside and put the box down. She glared at him.

"Can you hurry up?" she grumbled, "Some of us are actually trying to be useful."

"Someone hasn't had their caffeine today," he mumbled, stepping aside.

Adelaide stepped in his toe as she walked past him.

He yelped, jumping in the air. Abe snickered behind her until Flash looked up and glared at him. Once Adelaide was inside the bus, she found Michelle sitting the front seat, peacefully reading a book, totally undisturbed by the chaos. And by chaos she meant Mr. Harrington who had somehow acquired and utilized a megaphone at seven in the morning. She wanted to run the stupid thing over with this bus.

"Please stick with your buddy during the entire trip," Mr. Harrington continued to shout as if it was some sort of PSA for all of New York, "If you don't know who your buddy is, come see me. Abe, remember, we're buddies because your mom specifically requested that you stay with me so I can supervise your bathroom problem."

Everyone turned to look at Abe who looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

Which was fair.

"Once again, if you don't know who your buddy is, come see me—" The megaphone began screeching and everyone winced, covering their ears. Adelaide nearly dropped the box on the floor to press her hands over her ear.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside.

"Hey, it's Peter," Abe said, looking through the window. Adelaide frowned and leaned into a seat to see for herself.

"Hey guys," Peter greeted.

"Peter?" Liz said.

"Yeah, I was hoping maybe I could rejoin the team," he said, scratching the back of his neck. Adelaide's lips parted in surprise. First he ditched the team and now he wanted back in? What was his deal?

"No, no way. You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone," Flash said.

She never thought it would ever happen in her lifetime but...

Adelaide agreed with Flash.

"Hey, welcome back, Peter," Mr. Harrington greeted, walking around the bus. He turned to Flash. "Flash, you're back to first alternate."

Flash's jaw dropped and he turned to Mr. Harrington, " _What?_ "

"He's taking your place," Abe grinned through the window. Adelaide glanced at him. Someone tapped on the window beside him and they both turned their heads to see Michelle, having finally put down her book, lowering the window.

"Excuse me, can we go already? 'Cause I was hoping to get in some light protesting in front of one of the embassies before dinner, so," she said.

"Protesting is patriotic," Mr. Harrington beamed, "Let's get on the bus."

Flash glared at Peter as he shrugged his jacked off and shoved it angrily into Peter's hands.

Peter gave him a tight smile, but Flash marched past him in anger, shoving his shoulder as he did. Peter stumbled back a couple steps, but didn't say anything. Sensing someone's gaze on him, he looked up. Adelaide was watching him through the window on the bus.

His smile disappeared. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Everybody, on the bus!" Mr. Harrington announced on the megaphone. It screeched again and everyone shouted in complaint.

* * *

The bus had been on the road for about twenty minutes now.

Adelaide had successfully avoided confrontation with Peter who was sitting up towards the front of the bus near Liz and Betty. She and Ned were sitting towards the middle, speaking in hushed voices.

"Just do it," Ned whispered to her. Adelaide glared at him.

"It's not that simple," she hissed. Ned rolled his eyes.

"Just...talk to her," Ned said, "You're neighbors."

"That does not mean we're friends," she mumbled. Despite the fact that Vivian had given her burn cream and cookies.

"But we're friends and as your best friend, I'm asking you for a favor," Ned said. Adelaide sighed. She _did_ owe him a few.

"Fine," she mumbled. Ned grinned. Adelaide glanced down the aisle behind them. Flash was back there with his friends, goofing off and laughing. He caught her eye from the back of the bus and winked. She rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

She stood up and took a few steps down the aisle, to where Vivian was sitting by herself, looking out the window with a small smile. Adelaide wondered what she was thinking.

"Hey...Vivian," Adelaide said nervously, taking a seat beside her. She beamed.

"What's up?" she said.

"I was just...I was just wondering. Um. Do you...have a boyfriend?" Adelaide asked awkwardly. Vivian blushed.

"No," she said.

"Great!" Adelaide said and then backtracked after seeing the expression on her face, "I-I mean not great. It's just that...you know, Ned. He doesn't have a boyfr— I mean girlfriend either."

"...Oh...okay," Vivian said, thoroughly confused.

"He's not gay. But um, he's uh, single. And straight," Adelaide stuttered awkwardly. Vivian nodded, not sure what else to say. She could feel Ned's heated glare at the side of her head. She ignored him.

"Cool," Vivian said. Adelaide looked at her. And then she opened her mouth to say something else, but decided against it. There was nothing she could say to salvage this conversation anymore.

"Okay. See you later!" she said and practically ran out of the seat and back to hers.

"What was _that_?" Ned said, gesturing to the seat behind them. Adelaide sighed, running her hands through her hair. She would feel more comfortable having spiders crawl down her arms than have that conversation again. She sunk into the seat.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed quietly, throwing her hands up in the air, "I told you I didn't want to do this. I don't know how romance or being a wing-woman or anything works!"

"Yeah. Clearly," Ned mumbled.

He wondered how she was going to be able to handle it when she dated Peter in the future.

Because obviously they were going to. They had to. Otherwise, he was going to lose fifty dollars to Michelle. And he had been saving up that money for those Avengers action figurines he had had his eye on for a while now.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She blew her hair out of her face.

"It's okay," Ned sighed, "It's not your fault you're terrible at it."

"And she's my roommate," Adelaide frowned, covering her face, "I hope I didn't just make everything super awkward. She probably thinks I'm crazy."

"And she would be wrong to think that because...?" Ned teased.

"Shut up," Adelaide mumbled, smacking his arm and making him laugh. She glanced over at him, thinking of something.

"Hey, is it just me, or has Peter been acting a bit strange lately?" she asked. His eyes widened just like she knew they would.

He didn't know that she knew that he knew.

She just wanted to see how well he could lie about it. Or if he was going to lie to her. Maybe he'd tell her the truth. She knew he was aching to tell someone that he knew about Peter's identity because that's just who Ned was. He hated keeping secrets.

"St-Strange?" he asked, sitting upright in his seat. Adelaide nodded.

"Yeah. I feel like he's...different, you know?"

"D-Different?" Ned stuttered. Adelaide sat up, turning to face him.

"I mean, one minute he bails on the team and then he shows up this morning saying he wants to join again. Isn't that weird? You don't think he's hiding something from us, is he?" she whispered. Ned's face paled. He had the most guilty expression she had ever seen.

"N-No," he said in a pitch higher than normal, "I don't think he's hiding anything from us."

"Really," Adelaide said.

"Really. I d-don't know anything," he said, completely avoiding her gaze. Adelaide sighed, sinking back into her seat.

"Just wanted to be sure," she said quietly.

"Y-Yeah," Ned said.

She would just have to find another way to ask him about those weapons.

* * *

"Water?" Adrian asked.

Flint glanced at him and then shook his head. He shifted in his chair uncomfortably. He looked around the room. It was a large room.

It was Toom— Adrian's, as the man had insisted he call him — office in his house. Flint at first had been skeptical. Adrian had never taken any of the other men to his home. The man supposedly never mixed his personal life with his business. So Flint was a bit confused about Adrian's unexpected invitation to his home. He wasn't sure how to read the gesture.

As for the office itself, it was nothing short of grand. Adrian had gone out of his way to make the room seem like an office for normal affairs, instead of arms dealing. There were certificates and degrees on the wall behind the desk. There was a cabinet in the back left corner, filled with faux client info in case anyone ever searched the room. A small shelf against the wall, to the left of the entrance, was filled with books about accounting and taxes.

Flint suspected the computer at the desk to be cleaner than most government officials'. This man was not in this business to play around.

"So tell me about your abilities," Adrian said, grabbing a tennis ball off his desk and then leaning against it casually. Flint squirmed in the overly large chair in front of him, feeling small and awkward in the room.

"What about them?" he said, finally settling into a position where he had his feet spread out and arms resting casually on the armrests. He still felt uncomfortable.

"Start with how you get them," Adrian said, bouncing the tennis ball off the wall and catching it again. Flint watched him for a minute.

"I'm not sure myself. It was...some sort of research facility. One minute, things were still and then, suddenly, everything started spinning. I was buried under the sand and when I woke up the next morning, my body had dissolved to sand," he said, staring hard at the edge of the desk. He pressed his hands together in a tight grip.

"So you really can turn into sand...whenever?" Adrian asked with a curious smile. Flint glanced at him.

"Yeah," he said, holding out his hand and dissolving it into sand. Adrian watched with a gleam in his eye.

"Incredible," he mumbled and Flint returned his hand to its normal state.

"I knew you'd be useful the moment I saw you on the news," Adrian said, pushing himself off the desk, "You know, Flint, all of those morons who work for me have never come to my house before. I don't mix my business with my personal life."

"I don't blame you," Flint said uneasily as Adrian walked around him, still casually tossing and catching the tennis ball on the ground.

"But I trust you," Adrian said, "And I've only ever trusted two other people in my life. My wife and my daughter."

Flint paused. He had not been expecting to be trusted. He, a convict, trusted? No one had ever trusted him. Not even his own wife. Perhaps his daughter did, but she was wrong to do so.

"I'm glad," he said as Adrian appeared to his left. Flint could hear him pacing behind him, left and right as he tossed the ball around.

"If we can successfully work together, then you and I will be able to do so much more than just arms dealing," Adrian said. Flint looked over his shoulder at him.

"Such as?"

"Anything," Adrian grinned, "The world is our oyster." Flint looked away.

"Listen, I just need the cash from this deal and then I'm out," Flint said. Adrian came to stand beside him.

"Why stop at this deal?" he said, "You could make hundreds of thousands. Save up for your little girls education, buy a house, show your wife that you can be good enough again. You could earn her _respect_ again. You won't just be working _for_ me like the rest of them, you'll be working _with_ me and making twice as much money."

Flint paused.

Save up for Penny's education? Buy a real house? Prove himself to be a good enough father and husband again? It was all he'd ever wanted. To settle down and live a normal life. And to earn anyone's respect, let alone Emma's? It was so much more than he could ever ask for.

But what if it could be true?

"Look at me, Flint. You think I don't care about my wife and my daughter?" Adrian said, leaning in. Flint's gaze flickered behind him to the picture frame hanging on the wall amongst the certificates. It was a family picture and they were all together and smiling. Flint wanted to take a picture like that someday.

"Men like us have to do whatever we can to keep our family together," Adrian said, "You and I can do that. Together. For our families. Let's team up, Flint."

"But..." Flint started.

"You're not a bad person," Adrian said, clasping his shoulder, "You've just had bad luck. Just like me."

Adrian was right.

He wasn't a bad person. He just had bad luck.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Flint glanced over his shoulder and a woman popped her head inside. He immediately stood up. The woman looked between the two men before smiling warmly at Flint. He forced a smile back. She must be Adrian's wife.

"Hey, honey," Adrian said with a gentle smile, "This is Flint Marko, my new business partner."

Flint swallowed.

"Hello," she smiled politely, "I'm Doris, nice to meet you. I was actually just going to set up lunch, you're more than welcome to join us, Flint."

"Actually, I..."

"Flint has business to take care of," Adrian said, intervening, "I'll be right out, sweetheart."

Doris smiled at both of them before stepping back and closing the door behind her. Both men waited for the sound of her heels against the floor to fade down the hall

Flint turned around to face Adrian before he could change his mind.

"I'll do it," he said, "I'll be your business partner."

Adrian smiled, satisfied, "Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Flint. We're going to make millions together."

For Penny.

It was always for Penny.

* * *

 **A/N: i love writing flint cause he's such a complicated character who isn't** _ **technically**_ **a bad guy but still kinda is. on that note, i also love writing may just cause she's the best aunt to ever exist and i love her to death.**

 **anywayy, i was looking back at the old chapters and i realized how happy everything used to be before. like when adie's biggest problem was how she was going to face peter after they kissed or getting a B in math to go on a field trip...im really putting you guys through an emotional rollercoaster nowadays, huh?**

 **but don't worry guys, it's only going to get worse and worse and worse and... :)**

 _ **question: tom holland or peter parker? i'm not even going to try to answer that one lol it's too hard for me to pick lol**_

 **so what the hell is going on with this virus? it's cancelled so many things from the coachella to the nba season and tom hanks apparently has it now too? corona, explain !**


	85. Chapter 81

**A/N: i. hate. this. virus.**

 **let me list everything that got cancelled for me:**

 **\- watching onward in theaters**

 **\- my play**

 **\- my exams (only good thing that was cancelled)**

 **\- my state competition**

 **\- potentially my prom**

 **\- potentially my graduations !**

 **\- my trip to atlanta**

 **it's safe to say im pretty upset and i know im not the only one. not to mention this weather! i deadass haven't seen the sun in a week. 7 am looks the same as 7 pm. every. day.**

 ***sigh* anyone else need to rant? please, rant the hell out. i would love to hear someone else's problems for a change**

 **anyway, i still have all my classes online so my workload isn't much different, but i am going to try to publish longer chapters since im home all day and have nothing fun to do so**

 **this chapter is kinda fun so enjoy!**

* * *

 _"Um, I'm...going to...uh, watch porn."_

* * *

 _"Tony, please," she whispered, touching his shoulder. His jaw tightened._

 _"Say something," she begged quietly._

 _"Do you even remember them?" he asked. Adelaide's breath hitched. She looked up at him, the tears cascading down her face. He didn't know who she really was. The monster inside of her ran deeper than even she knew._

 _"I remember all of them," she whispered._

 _The look he gave her in that moment would be one she would never forget. Adelaide really thought he would have been in less pain if someone had stabbed him right then and there._

 _He pulled away from her hand._

 _No._

 _Panic flared in her chest and her face paled. He wasn't leaving – he couldn't be leaving. Not without her. She knew damn well that he couldn't live without her as much as she couldn't without him. The only question was: was he angry enough that he could?_

 _"I can't – I can't – without you – I don't know how," she stuttered as he began walking away from her._

 _Her lungs were failing her. She scrambled for words, something that would change his mind._

 _"Tony, please don't do this!" she shouted after him, "Tony, wait!"_

 _She ran up to him, stopping to stand in front of him. He stopped walking, looking down at her. Without another second of hesitation, she threw her arms around him, shaking with sobs into his suit._

 _"Please don't leave me," she begged, pulling away to look at him, "I'll do anything – anything! Just-Just tell me what I need to do and I'll-I'll do it. B-But I can't – I just can't without you. Please, please, please. I love you a-and I know you love me too. Don't do this, I'll do anything!"_

 _"Please," he said quietly, his voice cracking._

 _To her absolute horror, Tony pushed past her and kept putting a wretched distance between them with every angry step._

 _"Tony!" she screamed as his painfully familiar red and gold suit disappeared into the snowstorm, "Tony!"_

"Adelaide?" someone said, tapping her shoulder.

She jerked away before she realized it was just Vivian. She looked around, remembering where she was again. They were still on the bus, only it was empty now except for Vivian standing over her. She must have drifted off into a quasi sleep during the ride.

"We're here," Vivian said and Adelaide sighed, rubbing her eyes. Maybe if she rubbed them hard enough, she could get rid of that memory.

"Are you okay?" Vivian asked softly. Adelaide looked at her and then nodded.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, pushing herself onto her feet. She thought about those last moments she had with Tony every day. They might not have been the happiest, but they were all she had left of him now. Just memories. Would they ever be enough? They were going to have to be.

"There you are," Mr. Harrington said, "Come on, come on, we need to check in with the hotel. Everyone's waiting in the lobby."

Adelaide and Vivian followed him inside the hotel and there she spotted their group standing off the side in front of the bathrooms as they waited.

"You guys stay put here — Flash, don't touch that, you'll get electrocuted — I'm going to get our keys for the rooms. Please stick with your roommates so we can make this as quick as possible," Mr. Harrington said. Everyone mumbled back a reply and he went off to the front desk to get their keys for the rooms.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," Adelaide mumbled to Vivian before ducking through the group to the bathrooms behind them. Thankfully, no one was inside.

Adelaide went into a stall, noting how fancy everything looked. The decathlon committee did not hold back when they picked this hotel. There was practically an entire living room inside this bathroom. When she stepped out of the stall, she caught her reflection in the mirror and sighed.

She looked tired.

And she did not look 15 at all. She looked much, much older. The lighting in the bathroom didn't try to hide anything either. She picked at her skin, trying to make it look less lifeless somehow by pinching color into it. She had an indention on her cheek from where the window had dug into her face during her nap. She sighed again, dropped her fingers from her face. It was hopeless.

Just then, her phone began to ring.

She dug it out of her pocket, wondering who was calling her. It was Happy. She sighed, leaning against the countertop in front of her. She almost hung up on him like she had been doing for the past three months now, but something stopped her. He hadn't called her in weeks. What if there was an emergency? What if something had happened to Tony?

She picked up before her last thought was even through.

"Hello?" she said, feeling her stomach twisting with nerves.

 _Please let Tony be okay_.

 _"Got a blip on my screen here. You left New York?"_ he said. Adelaide paused, running his sentence over in her mind again. Then she let out her breath in relief. Tony was okay and Happy was just being Happy.

"Are you _tracking_ me?" she asked in disbelief, "How are you even—"

Tracker. In her suit.

Which she had brought with her as a precaution. She glanced in the mirror at the backpack hanging on her shoulders.

 _"Where are you?"_ he asked. Adelaide bit her lip, glancing over at the door. If she told him _nothing_ then there was a chance he'd come over himself. Besides, she wasn't exactly hiding anything.

"It's just a school trip, Happy," she said, "But I have to say, you tracking me without my permission is a complete violation of my privacy."

 _"I haven't seen you complaining about it for the past two years. What are you trying to hide from me now?"_

"Two years— why am I just now hearing about this?" she mumbled, slightly annoyed, "And for your information, it's just the Academic Decathlon. It's not a big deal."

 _"Hey, hey. I'll decide if it's no big deal,"_ Happy said. Adelaide waited.

 _"Sounds like it's no big deal, but—"_

"Happy," she interrupted, "I'm not your problem. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

 _"You can avoid me all you want kiddo, but I'm always going to worry about you,"_ he said and she could hear the smile in his voice. Adelaide sighed.

"You're only going to get yourself hurt. Because the person you're looking for isn't here anymore," she said quietly and ended the call.

* * *

Peter had to get the tracker out of the suit.

"Peter, why are removing the tracker from your suit?" Ned asked. They were in their hotel room, door locked and curtains drawn. The rest of the team was out to eat lunch in the court downstairs.

"Uh, because I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again and I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it," Peter mumbled. He was hunched over his suit, connecting a wire to it to hook it to the computer. He had a flashlight in his mouth, trying to locate the tracker on his suit.

Ned was at the computer, watching as the information from his suit uploaded onto the screen.

"So you're lying to Iron Man now?" Ned asked. Peter paused and then took the flashlight out of his mouth, looking over his shoulder at his best friend.

"No, I'm not lying. He just doesn't really get what I can do yet," he said, turning back to his suit. Ned eyed him warily.

"Ah...Gotcha," Peter said, taking the tracker out of the suit. Carefully, he put it on the lamp.

"All right, Happy. Enjoy tracking this lamp," he said, pretty proud of himself.

"There's a ton of other subsystems in here..." Ned mumbled, scrolling through the files on the computer.

"Hmm?" Peter hummed distractedly, still hunched over his suit. Ned smirked.

"...but they're all disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol," he grinned.

"What?" he said. Peter immediately hopped onto the bed beside Ned, running his eyes over the screen.

On the screen, the words _Training Wheels Protocol_ were written in bright red. The codes said that the protocol was currently active and that the _Stark Industry Key Identifier_ needed to be entered to disable it.

"Training Wheels Protocol?" Peter said in disbelief. Ned chuckled and Peter glanced at him, slightly embarrassed.

"Turn it off," he said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ned said, "I mean, they're probably blocked for a reason."

"Come on, man," Peter said, sliding off the bed, "I don't need training wheels." He jumped onto his bed and began to bounce up and down on it.

"I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time. It's not cool," he mumbled. Ned frowned.

"But you are a kid," he said.

"Yeah, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands," Peter said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Peter, I just don't think this is a great idea. I mean, what if this is illegal?" Ned said, feeling a sense of deja vu. He had been in a similar situation with Adelaide not too long ago. Peter jumped down from the bed and knelt down beside his best friend, making the best puppy dog eyes he could.

"Look, please. This is my chance to prove myself. I can handle it," he said, shaking his arm, "Ned, come on."

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Ned said, looking between his best friend and the screen. Peter gave him a little smile.

"The guy in the chair," he whispered, tugging his arm. Ned immediately shook his head.

"Don't do that," he said, pulling his arm away.

"Come _on_ ," Peter whispered, pouting.

Ned sighed and began typing reluctantly.

Suddenly, a blue flash pulsed through the suit and both boys turned their heads to look at it.

Peter grinned.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. They both looked at each other with wide eyes and then leaped out of the bed, throwing the covers over everything to hide it. Ned looked through the peephole in the door.

"It's Adelaide," Ned whispered over his shoulder.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Peter whispered back. Ned shook his head.

"I don't know. You good?" he asked, talking about the suit.

"Yeah," Peter whispered, glancing at the bed, "Yeah." Not like it really mattered. She already knew. But she didn't know that Ned knew.

Ned took a deep breath and opened the door just enough to pop his head out.

"Hey Adelaide! What's up!" he said, sounding extra cheery. Adelaide gave him a weird look then shook her head.

"Listen, I need your help," she whispered, looking up and down the hall repeatedly as if someone was listening.

"What?" Ned said. Adelaide paused, trying to look past him, into the room.

"Is Peter here?" she whispered. Ned looked over his shoulder and saw Peter shaking his head vigorously. He turned back to Adelaide.

"Nope," he said, going to close the door, "Okay, have a good day."

"Wait," she whispered, "I still need your help, dummy."

"With what?" he said. Adelaide looked around the hall again and then lowered her voice even more, leaning in.

"My suit," she whispered, "I need to...I need to disable...something."

Ned paused. "Training Wheels Protocol?"

Adelaide looked embarrassed.

"Well, I mean– wait...how do you know?" she whispered. Ned sighed.

"Lucky guess," he whispered. He didn't know this guy in the chair thing was going to keep him so busy. What if Mr. Stark found out and came after him? "Adelaide — are you sure?"

"Yes," she whispered as if it was obvious.

"Where's your suit?" he sighed.

"In my room," she whispered, "Come on. Before Vivian gets back from lunch."

"Give me a second," he whispered and pulled back to close the door. He turned back to Peter who had been standing there whole time and was now watching him suspiciously.

"What did she want?" he asked.

"What? Oh, nothing," he said, walking over to the laptop, "Hey, I'm going to need this for something really quick so..."

"Is it done uploading?" Peter asked, walking over to him. Ned pulled out the plug connecting the laptop to the suit.

"Yeah," he said, flipping it shut, "I'm gonna be right back."

Peter frowned, "Where are you going with that?" Ned was backing up to the door slowly, trying to buy himself enough time to find an excuse.

"Um, I'm...going to...uh, watch porn," he said just as his back hit the door. He immediately made a grab for the door handle.

"Dude," Peter cringed just before Ned stumbled out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Ned flattened himself against the wall beside the door, closing his eyes and internally cursing himself for his stupidity.

"What's wrong?" Adelaide said, watching him. Ned sighed, dropping his head.

"Nothing. Let's go," he mumbled, making his way down the hall.

This guy in the chair thing was starting to become rough.

* * *

Adelaide was waiting by Peter's hotel room door.

She had overheard a bit of their conversation when she had come to ask Ned to remove her tracker. Apparently, Peter was planning of following the guys with the weapons tonight.

And she was going to follow him.

When Ned questioned why she brought her suit with her, she just told him that she had brought it as a precaution, but he didn't seem to buy it. Nevertheless, he wasn't exactly in a position to question her so he didn't ask. Now, all she had to do was follow Peter and he would most likely lead her to the source of the weapons.

Adelaide's main concern was who was using these weapons.

If HYDRA got their hands on them then...

No. She wouldn't let that happen. She was going to track down the source and then eliminate him so he would stop his arms dealing business. She would just have to be very careful. This could easily blow up and become a big thing and she definitely didn't want that to happen. It would have to be a silent mission.

Just then, Peter peeked out the door.

Just like she had suspected he would. Adelaide immediately turned herself invisible and watched him. She knew he didn't just randomly have a change of heart and decided to join the team again. He wasn't fooling her. According to May, he had been so busy with the Stark "Internship" that he didn't have time for much else. So, clearly, then, he was here for the Internship. And the Internship meant Spider-Man.

"Yeah, the glowy thing, it's evidence. Keep it safe," Peter whispered to Ned over his shoulder. Glowy thing? What glowy thing? Did he have a piece of the weapon?

"They're moving," Peter whispered.

Adelaide prepared herself to follow him. After Ned had removed the tracker from her suit, she stuck it in the drawer in her hotel. She had her hoverboard with her too, hooked on her back just in case she needed to be fast.

"Be careful," she heard Ned whisper just before Peter closed the door. Looking up and down the hall, he pulled the hood over his head. Adelaide was so focused on Peter that she didn't see Liz approaching him.

"Hey, Liz," Peter said in his usual squeaky voice. Liz looked around the hallway before leaning towards him.

"Perfect timing. We're gonna go swimming," she whispered and then looked past him, waving her hand, "Come on, come on, come on."

"What?" he whispered. Suddenly, the group ran past her, quietly laughing. Flash ran by Peter, slapping his butt. Adelaide laughed to herself.

"Hey!" Peter jumped and Flash laughed. He turned back to Liz. "I was, uh...I was gonna go study, um, in the business center."

"Peter, you don't need to study," Liz said shyly, "You're, like, the smartest guy I've ever met."

Peter looked at her in a slight awe. Liz just complimented him.

"And besides..." she whispered, trying to hide a girlish smile, "Um, a rebellious group activity the day before competition is good for morale."

"Hmm?"

"Um, well, I read that in a TED Talk, so..." she said, "I-I heard it in a TED Talk. And I read a coaching book." Her smile looked so innocent and free. Adelaide was jealous of it instantly. And she didn't like the way Peter was looking at her. What if he dropped the mission entirely and followed her to the pool?

"Wow, you really..." he started, seeing her in a different light, "This is really important to you."

"Yeah. It's our future. I'm not gonna screw it up," she said like it was obvious, "Besides, we raided the minibar and these candy bars were, like, eleven dollars. So get your trunks on and come on."

She threw a candy bar at him and he caught it, just barely. He was in some kind of trance like he usually was when he talked to Liz.

"Come on!" Charles whispered to Liz.

"Come on," Sally echoed.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Liz whispered and turned around and followed them, assuming that Peter was going to follow her.

Peter stood there for a while, looking down the hallway where she had ran down. Then he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked down at the candy bar in his hand and then shook his head, laughing lightly.

"Ted talk," he whispered to himself and quietly chuckled again.

Adelaide didn't understand the feeling that was settling into her chest in that moment.

* * *

 **A/N: jealousy. the word you're looking for is jealousy adel- ah, forget it. you still have a few (notice how i said** _ **few**_ **and not lot) more chapters before you realize it.**

 **i think this was a pretty chill chappie. the ned bit was pretty funny, poor guy lol. he wanted the guy in the chair he got the guy in the chair just from both ends haha**

 **so this virus has doubled in two days in the us and im really not seeing an end to this quarantine thingy. anyway, i made a twitter so y'all can follow me if you want lol riyadp18 we can start a thread about tom holland or just rant about the virus lol**

 _ **question: any guesses for the next chapter? especially since we might be getting a new superhero pairing soon...**_

 **also! please stay safe guys, really. stay home, wash your hands, don't touch MEN (mouth, eyes, nose), and try not to travel if you can avoid it! i really hope this corona thing blows over really soon and everyone can be safe and healthy again :((**


	86. Chapter 82

**A/N: surprise update! cause we all need a little good news right now so**

 **THIS CHAPTER IS 100% BLUE PHANTOM x SPIDER-MAN FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR IT**

 **i thought id make this chappie a lil less depressing considering the world has decided to do that for all of us anyway. a little comedy but mostly the anticipated superhero pairing!**

* * *

 _"Wait— you were there when my mask_

 _was...you took my mask off!"_

* * *

Adelaide had to make use of the hoverboard sooner than she had expected.

For Peter, it was easy swinging around with his webs. However, it was harder to follow him when he was swinging around unpredictably. Luckily, she had managed to follow him to an old gas station where he was perched on a sign.

She let her hoverboard down at the base of the same sign, still invisible.

 _"Good evening, Adelaide,"_ TADASHI said once she had pulled the hoodie on her suit over her head, _"Congratulations on completing the rigorous Training Wheels Protocol and gaining access to your suit's full capabilities."_

Adelaide rolled her eyes at the name of the protocol. Only Tony would give it a patronizing name like that.

"Thanks," she muttered.

 _"Detecting three individuals,"_ TADASHI said.

Adelaide narrowed her eyes at the three dark figures sitting in a van and her suit automatically zoomed her vision through the contact lens she was wearing as a part of her suit.

"Why is their secret lair in a gas station? That's so lame," Adelaide muttered to herself under her breath and leaned forward, "What are they even doing?"

 _"Do you want to hear what they're saying?"_ TADASHI asked.

"I can hear what they're saying?" Adelaide asked in surprise.

 _"Activating Enhanced Reconnaissance Mode."_

The vision in her contact lenses changed and she could see the figures more clearly now, through the heat signals they were emitting. She could even see who was saying what.

 _"I got the gauntlet from the Lagos cleanup. The rest is all my design."_

"Whoa," she breathed. She could really hear them all the way from here.

 _"Can't believe they're still cleaning up that Triskelion mess."_

 _"I love it. They keep making messes, we keep getting rich."_

 _"Target inbound."_

"They're in the middle of a heist," she whispered to herself, "This is awesome. Okay, I'm gonna get a little closer so I can see what's happening."

 _"Would you like me to engage Enhanced Combat Mode?"_ TADASHI asked. Adelaide paused. There was an enhanced combat mode? Hell yeah.

"Yeah," she whispered.

 _"Activating Instant Kill,"_ TADASHI said.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't want to kill anybody!" she said.

 _"Deactivating Instant Kill."_ Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to have to be careful with that.

Suddenly, Peter leaped off the sign and shot out his web to the canopy above the gas station. Adelaide watched him as he fell flat on his face on the asphalt. What the hell was he doing? He was going to get himself killed.

 _"Did you hear that?"_ one of the men in the van said, looking around. Peter stumbled behind a pole, heaving.

"What the hell just happened? What was that?" he whispered to his own AI.

 _"You jumped off the sign and landed on your face,"_ the suit lady said. Peter caught his breath and tried to shoot at the gas station sign, but they fell short.

"Suit lady, what's wrong with my web-shooters?" he breathed, running behind another sign.

 _"Rapid-fire is the default for Enhanced Combat Mode."_

"Why would I need rapid-fire!" he asked in frustration.

 _"Would you like to see more options?"_

Suddenly, digital circles appeared around his wrists, continuously spinning.

 _"You have 576 possible web-shooter combinations,"_ the suit lady said.

"Whoa," Peter breathed, "Mr. Stark really overdid it."

"Okay, that one," Peter said after a minute. He really didn't know what it did, but it looked like a good option.

 _"Great choice,"_ the suit lady said. The option he picked turned red.

 _"Would you like me to set this as your new default?"_ she asked. Peter shot a web at the sign he had been perched on. Adelaide looked up at the sign above her as it flickered on and off. She cursed under her breath at Peter.

What the hell was that idiot doing!

"No, no, no!" he whispered under his breath, shooting at the sign again. Adelaide glanced at the men in the van worriedly. Any second now, they were going to see Spider-Man jumping around a flickering sign.

Luckily, Peter ran behind the gas station just in time.

"What was that?" Peter breathed, looking at his web shooters in awe.

 _"Taser webs."_

"Taser webs? I don't want taser webs," he whispered to himself in frustration, holding his head.

 _"You seem to be very unfamiliar with your web-shooter settings. Would you like to run a refresher course?"_

"No, just...You choose," he whispered to her.

 _"Sure thing."_

Suddenly, Adelaide spotted a sandstorm like figure spinning above a few trucks driving by.

"What the hell?" Peter whispered to himself. Adelaide heard him through the Enhanced Reconnaissance Mode in her suit.

"I got eyes on the convoy. Pulling in behind the caboose," Flint said to the men.

Adelaide watched in awe as cables were fired onto the roof of the last truck from the strange sand-tornado. A moment later, she saw a pinkish glow in the roof of the truck.

Adelaide had never seen anything like it.

To her right, Peter was running full speed out from behind the gas station, towards the truck. Adelaide fired up her hoverboard by tapping it with her foot and quickly followed him, still invisible.

Meanwhile, the sandman dropped into the trailer.

"Looks like they got some good stuff here," he muttered to himself as he materialized into a human again. He ripped off the door of the cage, readying himself to take the weapons.

Unknown to Flint, Peter and Adelaide were both on the roof of the truck. Adelaide was still invisible and Peter had no idea the Blue Phantom was standing there with him. She watched him as he bent down and touched the pink glow on the roof. His fingers went through.

"Whoa, cool. It's some kind of matter phase shifter," he whispered.

Inside the truck, Flint had just finished zipping up a bag of new toys. Adelaide had lowered herself into the truck silently as Peter crawled on the ceiling. So these were the high-tech weapons Peter was talking about. They were high-tech because of the Chithauri alien material involved.

"Alright, coming up," Flint said, looking up through the roof. He dissolved his feet to sand and used the momentum to push himself out of the roof. Peter jumped through the roof with him and shot out a web at the strange sandman's bag, pulling it away.

"Hey, sand dude! This doesn't belong to you!" Peter shouted, catching his attention.

Sandman stopped, turning over his shoulder to glare at him. The bottom half of his body was a sand tornado now. Peter was half scared to death. First a big vulture guy and now this sand dude? Where the hell did all these guys keep coming from?!

"Oh, god," he mumbled to himself.

Then, Sandman attacked.

Peter just barely jumped over him and fired another web at him except it flew past him, missing completely.

"Suit lady, what was that!" Peter shouted to her in panic.

 _"You told me to choose!"_

Sandman came for him again and this time he didn't miss landing a punch on Peter's face. Peter nearly lost his balance, trying to keep himself on the roof.

"What? No, just set everything back to normal!" he said to the suit lady. He grabbed ahold of the sandman's bag and began tugging.

 _"Activating all systems."_

Finally, Peter ripped the bag out of his hands, but he lost his balance and fell through the portal, into the truck. He immediately jumped back up again, but this time, his head hit the solid roof. Hard.

He crumbled to the floor, unconscious.

Adelaide stared at him for a silent moment, just blinking.

Then she let out a long sigh and shook her head, sitting down on the ground beside him. She made herself visible again. She pulled his mask off and tossed it aside, assessing his injuries. He had a small cut on his face, just below his left eye and she could imagine the bruise forming on his head from that hit.

 _"He seems to have a mild concussion,"_ TADASHI informed her. She rolled her eyes. Of course he did. He was never careful.

"Pete, I hope you know you are an absolute idiot," she muttered to him tiredly.

Adelaide looked around the trailer. The roof was sealed as if it had never been altered and there was no way to open the back doors without busting through them. And even if she did manage to open them, there would be no way she could jump out of the moving vehicle with Peter. She slouched against the cage tiredly, her gaze running over Peter's face. He almost looked like he was sleeping.

It was still so strange to her to see him in the Spider-Man suit. She had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that the same guy who was afraid to stand up to a bully was taking on criminals like this. But at the same time, it made sense.

Only Peter would be crazy enough to do such a thing.

She reached out, brushing aside the one lock of hair that always fell into his eyes and letting her fingers linger in his soft curls before she realized what she was doing and quickly pulled away.

What the hell was _that_?

* * *

When Peter came back to consciousness, his head was trying to kill him.

"Oh, my head," he groaned, slowly sitting up.

Blinking feverishly, he looked around as the memories came back to him. There had been a strange sand-tornado and then his head hit the ceiling. His head throbbed again and his hand went to it.

He paused, realizing his mask was off. He looked around the floor, finding it sitting on the ground beside the duffel bag. He quickly pulled it on, wondering when in the world he had taken the mask off the begin with.

 _"Hello, Peter. You appear to have a mild concussion,"_ the suit lady said as soon as he had pulled the mask over his head.

"Hey, so where am I right now?" he winced, looking around.

 _"I'm not sure. The container walls are hindering my sensors."_

"Wait a minute," he said, freezing, "They must have hijacked the truck and taken me to their evil lair." This was bad. This was really bad.

"Okay, suit lady," Peter said, taking a deep breath, "We're gonna have to fight our way out of this one." He prepared himself at the opposite end of the trailer to run at towards the door.

"Three...two...one!"

He smashed through the trailer doors, stumbling out onto the other side. He looked around, on guard. It looked like a huge warehouse full of trailers like the one he had just burst out of.

"What is this place? Suit lady, where am I?" he said in panic.

 _"You're in the most secure facility on the Eastern Seaboard. The Damage Control Deep Storage Vault."_

"No," he breathed, his hands going to his head, "Seriously?"

He turned around and on the wall, the letters _DODC-V05_ written in giant black letters.

* * *

It was a little while later.

Peter was clinging to the horizontal crack on the massive doors as he tried to wedge them open. Even with his super strength, the doors wouldn't budge.

 _"The door will most likely remain closed until morning,"_ suit lady said.

He jumped down from them with a grunt and kicked them.

"Morning?" he asked disappointedly.

* * *

A little while later, he had managed to make himself a hammock with his webs and was lying on it.

"Hey, suit lady, I kind of feel bad calling you 'suit lady,' you know?" he said, slowly swinging back and forth, "I think I should probably give you a name...like Liz. No, no, no. God, that's...that's weird."

He shot out a web at the trailer beside him and swung himself out of the hammock, dropping onto the floor. His foot slipped and he fell on his back. It didn't hurt much, but he didn't really have the motivation to get back up.

"What about Karen?" he asked after a minute of lying on the floor.

 _"You can call me Karen if you would like,"_ she said.

* * *

He was reading a book upside down.

"Hey, Karen, what else can this suit do?" he asked.

Suddenly, wings expanded from under his arms. He gasped in a child-like surprise.

"What?" he said in shock.

* * *

"Maybe we should run that refresher course," he said, running though his options for webs. There sure were a lot. He almost felt bad for overriding the protocol. Mr. Stark really put thought into this suit.

 _"Ricochet web,"_ Karen said.

"Ricochet web," he echoed in curiosity, shooting one at the doors of the warehouse. It bounced back and he ducked, looking after it in awe.

"Whoa! Cool!" he said. He shot out another web.

 _"Splitter web,"_ Karen said as the web split in two in the air.

 _"Web grenade."_

He jumped up in the air and shot out a web grenade.

"Web grenade!" he announced. It exploded on the wall just like its name implied.

* * *

After having ran through most options in his suit, he had ended up lying down on top of a trailer.

He was playing with his webs like a yo-yo.

"Should I tell Liz that I'm Spider-Man?" he asked Karen.

This sparked the other teenager's interest who was lying down on the trailer beside him. Adelaide had been trying to stay quiet this whole time, even when he had been testing his new webs. She had silently been running through her own new features which had kept her busy for a while.

Adelaide sat up, looking over at him.

 _"Who is Liz?"_ Karen asked Peter.

"Who is Liz? She's...heh. She's the best," Peter said, "She's awesome. She, uh, she's just a girl who goes to my school."

He paused for a minute.

Adelaide wished her suit had a mute option.

She really wasn't in the mood to hear about Liz's greatness again. Especially not from Peter.

"And, uh...Yeah, I just...I really want to tell her, but it's kind of weird, you know? 'Hey, I'm...I'm Spider-Man.'"

 _"What's weird about that?"_

"What if she's expecting someone like Tony Stark?" he said and Adelaide nearly snorted aloud, "I mean, imagine how disappointed she'd be when she sees me."

 _"Well, if I were her, I wouldn't be disappointed at all."_

"Thanks, Karen. It's really nice to have somebody to talk to," he said.

Adelaide obviously had no idea what 'Karen' — as he'd apparently been calling her — had said to him, but she wondered if she said something nice about Liz.

She decided to give him someone else to talk to.

She made herself visible.

"Spider-Man, right?" she said. Peter looked over to his left to find the Blue Phantom sitting there.

Peter fell off the trailer.

"What the—!" he shouted just before he hit the floor. Adelaide hid her laughter.

He shot a web onto her trailer and swung himself up onto the roof with her.

"H-Hey! H-How long have you...have you..." he breathed, completely out of breath. Adelaide looked up at him with her glowing blue eyes.

"Well, I watched you give yourself a concussion," she said. His spider eyes widened.

"What!" he shouted, stumbling back and nearly falling off the trailer again, "You've-You've been here the whole time?!"

"Pretty much," she said, stretching her arms overhead, "You're pretty unobservant for someone with a sixth sense."

"How- I- What- _How_?" he stuttered, his hands going to his head, "The whole time?"

"Yeah— did you not hear me the first two times?" she said, pushing herself onto her feet.

"Wait— you were there when my mask was... _you_ took my mask off!" he said, his eyes going wide as he accusingly pointed at her. Adelaide — the Blue Phantom — gave him a look.

"Of course it was me," she said, pretending that she didn't already know who he was, "Anyone would be curious. Besides, you were knocked out for a while."

"Hey, that's-that's an invasion of my privacy!" he said angrily except he didn't sound as angry as he sounded shaken, "Y-You had no right to—"

"Relax, Spider-Man," she sighed. It was fun messing with him. Probably the most fun she'd had since she'd gotten stuck in this stupid warehouse.

"Y-You can't tell anyone," he said.

"Fine," she mumbled. He paused, narrowing his eyes.

"If you get to know who I am, I should know who you are," he said. The Blue Phantom grinned at him.

"Nice try," she said, "But I don't play fair."

Peter huffed, slightly annoyed that this superhero girl he'd only met once knew his secret identity and he didn't know hers. It was ticking him off. She didn't even have a mask he could web off. Her entire face was an illusion.

"So, Spider-Man, tell me everything you know about this sand dude," she said. He glared at her.

"I'm not telling you anything," he grumbled. The Blue Phantom chuckled.

"You're mad at me," she said. Not like she wasn't used it already. "But if you tell me about the sand dude, I'll tell you something I know."

He narrowed his eyes at her and then sighed.

"I don't know him. That was the first time I saw him, but he's dealing this alien tech to criminals and I need to shut the arms trafficking down before someone gets hurt," he said, "Now tell me what you know."

"I actually don't know anything, but thanks for telling me that," she grinned. Peter glared at her.

"I don't understand why Mr. Stark wanted you on your team," he frowned, suddenly remembering something, "Didn't you turn on him anyway?"

Her smile flickered.

"Don't you think taking down this arms trafficking is too big of a job for someone like you?" she asked. Peter didn't miss how she dodged his question. He wondered if she'd heard him saying the embarrassing stuff about Liz. Who was he kidding. Of course she'd heard him. God, she probably thought he was a loser.

Not that he cared what she thought or anything.

"I can do it," he said defensively, "Besides, it's none of your business. Why did you follow me here, anyway?"

"I want to take these bad guys down just as much as you do," she shrugged, running her fingers through her hair, "Have you ever considered that this thing might actually be bigger than just you?"

"I don't need a partner," he said firmly, "I work alone."

"You think just because you saved a couple of people around the neighborhood, you're qualified for something like this?" she asked, raising a judgmental eyebrow. He glared at her.

"Well, how many people have you saved then?" he snapped, "I don't see how you're qualified for this either."

"This isn't a neighborhood robbery," she snapped back, equally annoyed. His statement had hit a little bit too close to home.

"Listen, this is my job. And if you think you can just trail along and push me around then...then you're wrong," he said, trying to sound a little mean.

"You are going to get yourself killed," she said plainly.

"I can handle myself," he said, annoyed, "And I don't see why that would mean anything to you."

"Because..." she sighed, running her fingers through her hair again in frustration, "Because I am sick of watching innocent people die. But I'm sure you wouldn't understand that."

He narrowed his eyes at her, stepping forward.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked. She looked him and then sighed again, looking away.

"Nothing," she mumbled, "Now, are you going to help me find a way out of this, or not?"

 _"Combining resources might be more efficient, Peter,"_ Karen said and somehow Adelaide could hear her.

 _"That is a very thoughtful insight, Karen,"_ TADASHI said aloud _, "I agree."_

 _"Thank you, TADASHI,"_ Karen said politely.

Both teenagers blinked at each other. Did their AIs just have a conversation without them?

"Hey, Karen...how do you know his name?" Peter asked wearily.

 _"Tony Stark created both of us,"_ Karen replied. Peter looked up at the Blue Phantom. Who the hell was this girl and how was she so close with Mr. Stark? The Blue Phantom gave him a look.

"Do you trust me now?" she asked. Peter studied her for a moment, running his eyes over her platinum blonde hair and unusually bright glowing blue eyes. He couldn't help but think of Ada's eyes when he saw them. Should he trust her? He barely even knew her.

"No," he answered. Then, a moment later:

"But I trust Mr. Stark's judgement," he sighed.

Adelaide waited expectantly. Peter gave up and looked away.

"Fine! We can work together," he said, throwing his hands up in the air, "But that doesn't mean I trust you."

Adelaide smiled sadly.

"Most people don't," she said quietly.

* * *

 **A/N: ah! that was so much fun! i think someone commented on the last chapter that they wanted the two of them locked in the warehouse together so here it is. thoughts? i think it's kinda refreshing since peter doesn't know it's his ada**? **and they can stop fighting for once.**

 **anyway, just imagine ned's reaction when he sees that the blue phantom is working with spidey lol i cant wait to write that scene.**

 **so day like 6? of quarantine, i have started to binge billie eilish. my room is starting to feel like a prison. i also feel 35 and married with three kids trying to take college online because i have two jobs and no time. does that make sense? lol.**

 _ **question: what chapter do you guess peter and adie are finally gonna kiss in?**_


End file.
